Around New England

Vermont Goat Elected Town Mayor; Beats Out Gerbil, Dog, For Office

March 8, 2019

Voters in Fair Haven, VT have spoken, electing a 3-year-old female goat named Lincoln to graze in the town offices as the new town mayor. The goat will take office on Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, the folks of Fair Haven, a town of 2,500 that sits on the border with New York, do not have a human mayor, but the caprine mayor will reportedly do just fine as the town’s “honorary pet mayor.”

AP reports that the idea of electing a pet mayor came from Town Manager Joseph Gunter, who had heard of a similar act taken by a Michigan town. Gunter proposed that any Fair Haven resident could nominate a pet for the post. A nomination required a $5 entry fee; the proceeds from the process, about $100, would go to fund the building of a new town playground.

Lincoln found herself on a ballot against 15 other contenders, including a gerbil and sundry dogs and cats, and managed to garner 13 of the 53 votes cast during Fair Haven’s Town Meeting Day, the AP reports. Votes could be cast by any town resident, the report says.

It was not immediately known what political party affiliation Lincoln might have, nor what Lincoln’s first official act or agenda might be.

Mayor Lincoln will serve the town for one year, the AP reports.