The people of Talkeetna, Alaska sound like my kind of people: No-nonsense and pragmatic with a big dose of humour. If you haven’t heard the sad news, their honorary mayor of twenty years, Mr Stubbs, passed away recently. He was originally elected because they couldn’t find a politician worth voting for; he was merely “honorary” because Talkeetna is only a historical district, and holds no local election. Mr Stubbs was a cat.
Historically, he’s not alone in being a non-human electoral candidate; often, votes for such candidates are a form of protest or political satire. There has been a long line of them: In 1938, Milton, Washington elected a brown mule, Boston Curtis – he won 51 to 0; in the 1968 US Presidential election, Pigasus the Immortal, a boar hog, was nominated as candidate; Sunol, California elected Bosco – a black Labrador-Rottweiler mix – as mayor, 1981-1994; there have been turkeys, monkeys, rhinos, goats, and even non-animate objects such as a fire hydrant, a sock puppet, and a ficus tree that have attempted (and sometimes succeeded in) getting on the ballots.
Did you know that America could have had a much worthier president now? Limberbutt McCubbins, a cat, was officially registered with the Federal Election Commission as a Democratic candidate for the 2016 Presidential elections. His campaign slogan was “Meow Is The Time”. Here is the link for you to peruse the extensive list of historical non-human politicians and candidates.
Go to the list and choose your favourite example; it might give someone inspiration for their own political conundrum! Comments about non-human politicians, only, please…
Mr Stubb’s presidential campaign, 2012
Stephanie Huesler 