This town in Vermont just elected a goat named Lincoln as its honorary mayor
When residents of Fair Haven, Vermont, voted for mayor, they weren't kidding around. They chose a Nubian goat named Lincoln.
With 13 votes, Lincoln eked out a victory over Sammie the dog, who received 10 votes. As the town's first honorary pet mayor, Lincoln will attend events throughout the year and already has plans to march in a parade on Memorial Day. He will officially take office on Tuesday.
Fair Haven is home to 2,500 people and does not have a human mayor. Town Manager Joseph Gunter heard about a town in Michigan that voted for an honorary pet mayor, and he thought it would be fun to do the same thing in Fair Haven. For just $5, residents could enter their pets in the race, with every dollar going toward the building of a community playground. Not only was $100 raised, Gunter told The Associated Press, but it was also "a great way to introduce the elementary school kids to local government."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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