French bulldog is new mayor in Rabbit Hash
It was a tight race. But the people of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, have spoken — the next mayor will be a 6-month- old French bulldog named Wilbur Beast.
Lady Stone, a border collie who serves as the town’s ambassador, announced Wilbur’s win Tuesday night.
“The results are in from the most important election that happened this year!!” Lady Stone wrote on social media before thanking every other candidate for their help preserving “this historic town for years to come.”
Wilbur will take the leash from incumbent Brynneth Pawltro, a pit bull who won the 2016 race. Pawltro has not released a statement about the defeat. The new mayor’s owner is Amy Noland, 43. She attributes his win to his fierce outreach strategy this election cycle.
“He’s done a lot of campaigning,” Noland said. “He’s been all over social media, and he hosted a lot of events.”
Wilbur also won on a platform of mental health and breast cancer awareness. Noland’s 65-year old mother is a breast cancer survivor.
Rabbit Hash, located in Boone County, has been electing dogs as mayor since 1988, when canine Goofy Borneman won a four-year term ( he tragically died before his term ended).
The mayoral election is a fundraiser for Rabbit Hash, a 3.5-acre town maintained by the Rabbit Hash Historical Society. Votes aren’t limited to residents of the town — anyone around the world can “vote” for mayor, with each ballot costing $1 that goes towards maintaining Rabbit Hash.
Noland, a Boone County resident, said that entering a dog into the race has been “on her bucket list” for a while.
“I live just a few miles outside of Rabbit Hash,” Noland said. “It’s a special town, and I’ve been going since I was a child.”
In order to run in the Rabbit Hash mayoral race, a candidate’s owner must be within an hour walking distance of the town, Noland said.