In answer to the question if a mayor and/or sheriff can legally organize.. the mayor is the legal elected leader of the community/city. IF he/she has the support of the council (in most communities there is a 'city council', also elected that represent the different areas of the community) I beleive they can, but don't know about all state laws etc.
As for the sheriff.. YES they can deputize and for reserves of unpaid persons which are used for various reasons... disaster releif, crowd control, search and rescue, in addition to hunting fugitives (though not on much scale for this any more). Training for them varies from area to area, some very well trained to almost no training other than a few classes on use of force etc.
I do NOT think, and didn't mean to imply, they would be used as a private army, at least until after TDM. They would be manning road blocks/check points, and YES I think in general there would be the comming together, UNLESS there is an unruley mob involved. Then the bets are off.
Yes there will be factions within any community. Remember these individuals in leadership positions are elected officials and most (if any) were unanamous. But if they are highly respected competent fair leaders (and I'm talking about politicans
) who have the support of the greater majority (70% or better of the community in question I would say) in peace time, locals are more apt to follow their lead/decisions in times of crisis. Again we are talking of a democracy here, so again not all will agree. As time progresses it all depends on local conditions and how well the leaders lead and the people cooperate.
In rural states (ie most states west of the Mississippi and east of the Sierra Nevada at least) I think there would be less friction between the urbanite and rural population as long as the urbanite 'behaved and contributed to the community". After TDM, the day of the freeloader will be over. You want to eat? You work. IT does not have to be manual labor either, child care by elderly or semi-infirm to release ablebodied parents to work for the reconstruction/survival of all comes to mind. The elderly, young, and infirm will be tolerated to not work for the most part, but I think they will. Peer pressure is going to be great as supplies are limited.
Here again... leadership, leadership, leadership and cooperation.
There will ALWAYS be exceptions, and I see Warlords in the scheme of things as well as corruption in places where the population lets it occur.
This is from the US perspective, and perhaps Canadian as well.
In game terms, charisma will be a deciding roll as will intelligence and leadership.
And Leg, the idea of fuel I think is pretty well on. I could see rationing by the spring of 97. I think also that oilseed and alcohol plants will be full blown production of old crop. Biodiesel was not a big item at that time, but diesels (in the warmer months) can run 100% vegoil (sunoil, canola/rape, soybean) with no loss in power. The community college I went to in 83 had an alternative fuels class offered since 73. I've seen the dyno done in person on field tractors and seen the straight run filtered sunflower oil used to plow. BUT the straight run will solidify in colder weather faster than the biodiesel that has been soaponified and had the waxes removed.