That's Mayor Dog To You

Maybe more cities should take after this Minnesota township.

Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. Today’s fact deserves some scritches.

Photo via American Kennel Club.

Cormorant Township had a dog named Duke as its mayor for four years.

This email is going to start on a sad note. Last week, I said goodbye to my sweet dog, Franxie. She led a long and happy life, and I was so glad I got to be a part of it, even though the past several days have been heart-wrenching. Here’s a photo shoot of some of my favorite moments with her.

In her honor, we’re going with a dog-centric fact today and heading to Cormorant Township in Becker County, Minnesota.

Cormorant is a township of 1,407 people. Back in 2014, it was running an election as a fundraiser. The city had never had a mayor before—what better way to raise money than with a little politicking? Luckily, people realized they could vote for anyone as the mayor, including dogs.

Duke, a Great Pyrenees who was already a celebrity for munching on hamburgers and chips, won easily. He took his mayoral duties seriously, never growling or barking, just continuing to be a very good boy.

He ultimately served four one-year terms, or 28 dog years, before retiring in June 2018. He died about eight months later, on February 21, 2019. The post had remained vacant, but with the buzz around this year’s upcoming presidential election, Cormorant opened up voting again.

Out of a whopping 103,000 votes—more than 73 times the population of Cormorant itself—the township (and social media) elected Khaleesi Sherbrooke, another Great Pyrenees, as the next mayor. Khaleesi went up against a three-year-old Bassett Hound named Theodore H. Rosten and Ollie Einerson, an eight-month-old retriever mix.

A 29-year-old human entrepreneur, Ken Mathees, also put his name in the mayoral mix. Given the competition, he had zero chance to win.

We’ll see if Khaleesi continues the leadership style of Duke or forges a different path. What we do know is Cormorant mayors will remain the snuggliest group of all time.