A Better Alternative than Mayor Rahm Emanuel

(AP Photo/Sandy Bubar).

This honorary mayor also comes with an added bonus: increased tourism that will balance the lack of visitors to our crime-ridden city:

Alaska town: Feline mayor is the cat's pajamas

The Associated Press

Sunday, July 15, 2012 4:51 AM EDT

TALKEETNA, Alaska (AP) — The mayor of a sleepy Alaska town is feline fine.

The part-Manx cat clawed his way onto the political scene of Talkeetna, Alaska, through a write-in campaign shortly after he was born 15 years ago.

KTUU-TV reported (bit.ly/LYvzBV) Friday that residents didn't like the mayoral candidates years ago, so they encouraged enough people to elect Stubbs as a write-in candidate. The town has nearly 900 residents.

Although his position is honorary, Stubbs' popularity is real. His election earned him enough press to catapult the town at the base of Mount McKinley into a tourist destination.

Residents say they're happy that their stubby-tailed mayor is promoting tourism. The general store where Stubbs hangs out says it gets dozens of tourists a day asking for him.

———

Information from: KTUU-TV, www.ktuu.com