A tiny town in Kentucky elected a dog as its mayor!4 min read

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It was a tight race, but the people of a small hamlet in the state of Kentucky in the US, have picked a winner. Wilbur Beast, a six-month-old French Bulldog, is the new mayor of Rabbit Hash! Yes, you read that right – this pooch has been elected to the top post in the town’s elections.

However, this news isn’t that shocking, as Rabbit Hash has never had an actual person as mayor! Wilbur will be taking over from Brynneth Pawltro, a Pitt Bull who served as mayor from 2016 to 2020. Amy Noland, who is Wilbur’s owner, said he won 13,143 of 22,985 votes, which was ‘announced’ by the town’s ambassador, a Border Collier named Lady Stone.

“The results are in from the most important election that happened this year!!” Lady Stone wrote on social media.

Noland says Wilbur’s win can be attributed to his “fierce outreach strategy” – he was very ‘active’ on social media and hosted a lot of events too, apart from spreading awareness on some impawtent issues such as mental health and breast cancer!

Noland says that 2020 has brought a lot of bad news, and with all the negative media out there, Wilbur’s campaign brought smiles and joy to a lot of people. 

Meanwhile, Wilbur seems to be handling the stress of his new role quite well, says Noland, adding that he has already done a lot of interviews.

 A long line of furry pawliticians

Believe it or not, but Rabbit Hash has been electing dogs as mayor since 1988! A canine named Goofy Borneman was the first mayor to win a four-year term. There’s an interesting story as to why the people in this little town pick animal mayors. A man named Don Claire came up with the idea to elect an animal as mayor as part of a fundraising event to preserve and maintain the historical town. Rabbit Hash is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It has a general store that dates back to 1831 – that’s almost 200 years back!

Residents or anyone interested in taking part in this fun event can cast their ballot for $1 each, which goes towards maintaining the town. Wilbur was able to earn $22,985 to keep his home looking spick and span! Coincidentally, these cute elections always end up happening at the same time as the US presidential elections.

Let’s take a look at Rabbit Hash’s past mayors:

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So if you find yourself in Rabbit Hash around election time, do remember to vote for the top dog in town.

Sources: nbcnews.com, cnn.com