From Daily Mail: Politics has quite literally gone to the dogs in one Minnesota village, where a seven-year-old pup has been named mayor.
Duke, a Great Pyrenees, won the mayoral election in Cormorant this weekend by a landslide, taking all but two or three votes. The dog, who is often seen eating hamburgers and chips in the village’s pub, will be officially sworn in on Saturday.
All 12 Cormorant villagers paid $1 to vote in the election, with at least nine voting for Duke. Duke won the ceremonial role after a tightly fought campaign against local store owner Richard Sherbrook.
Mr. Sherbrook, who voted for Duke himself, said: ‘I’m going to back the dog 100 per cent. He’s a sportsman and he likes to hunt. He’ll really protect the town. There’s no question that he’ll do a good job representing the community.’
Duke was treated to five hours of grooming after his victory and will receive a salary of a year’s supply of free dog food from Tuffy’s Pet Food store in the nearby village of Perham.
A video of Duke shows him wearing a mayoral hat, but it is not clear if he will have to wear it for all official business.
Villagers say Duke, who is yet to make an inaugural address, has already started making changes in Cormorant. David Rick, who voted for the dog, said: ‘What he does is when the cars are coming through town, they’re hitting town at 50mph, and he slows them down. He follows me wherever I go.’
Tricia Maloney also voted for Duke and said: ‘He doesn’t know how to handle this publicity. He won by a landslide. He’s used to coming to the pub and getting some burgers and some fries or something.’
DCG