A Goat And A Dog Are Mayoral Candidates In Vermont, But Not As Strange As It Seems

Sammy the dog is campaigning to unseat Lincoln the
goat as mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont

The Town Meeting ballot in Fair Haven, Vermont has a really hot issue on its hands.

Should residents re-elect the incumbent mayor, a Nubian goat named Lincoln, or should they oust the mayor in favor of Lincoln's opponent Sammy, a town police dog.  

Yeah, everybody across the nation is laughing at this news. After all, as a lifelong resident (so far!) of Vermont, I know it's a quirky place. We even have lots of bumper stickers that say "Keep Vermont Weird."

The whole thing is fun, but it's a lot more wholesome and meaningful than it seems.

Fair Haven doesn't have a real mayor, like many cities do. In Vermont, the town of Fair Haven has a panel called a Selectboard, which makes the decisions for the community. Selectboards are basically City Councils in communities that are too small to be actual cities.

The closest thing Fair Haven has to a real mayor is a town manager. Again, many Vermont towns, including Fair Haven, have town managers that carry out the policies that the selectboard puts forth.

By the way, I referred to a Town Meeting is Vermont's version of an annual election. Residents gather to discuss the issue. Then they either do voice votes from the meeting room, or they go to the ballot box to vote.

I just needed to give those of you who are not familiar with Vermont this Green Mountain State civics lesson so you understand the background as to what's going on.

All this isn't to say the Lincoln the Goat vs. Sammy the dog mayoral race in Fair Haven isn't important. It definitely is.

That town manager I referred to, in Fair Haven named Joe Gunter said this about Mayor Lincoln who was first elected to a one-year term last year:

"Originally, we did it as a fundraiser to replace the playground behind the school, but it really turned into a small civic lesson for children. 'Come out and vote. Get involved in the town.'"

This year, children, and everybody else in Fair Haven now have a model political fight on their hands. It's a continued civics lesson for the community.  Without the pain of the usual partisan idiocy and pain.   This idea should spread.

That's not to say there's no political salesmanship involved in the Lincoln Vs. Sammy election.

Sammy's political spokesman, Fair Haven Police Chief Bill Humphries, offered this defense of his candidate, as the Burlington Free Press reports:

"Sammy has promised to release her tax returns and recuse herself from all police business that might come before the town to avoid any conflicts of interest....Humphries has also tried to soothe the concerns of Fair Haven's feline population, which has a long history of hostile relations with canine police officers."

The Burlington Free Press continues:

"Sammy touted her achievements, such as tracking down missing persons, uncovering thousands of dollars of ill-gotten cash during a suspected drug trafficking stop, and serving as the school resourse officer for a time."

Lincoln the incumbent goat mayor has her own record of accomplishments. She did raise the $3,200 needed or the playground equipment, after all.  Lincoln's campaign manager, Chris Stanton wants Fair Haven voters to ask themselves, 'Under Mayor Lincoln, am I better off today than I was a year ago.?"

It will be fun to see the outcome of this election. More fun than the usual political drudgery we're used to.