Corrales elects new pet mayor

The village of Corrales has a new mayor. Well, pet mayor that is.

On Sunday, Oct. 1, Wendall, the Nigerian goat, officially won Corrales’ pet mayor election. Wendall’s official platform was, “I’ll clean up this town!”

The pet mayor announcement was conducted by Corrales (human) Mayor Jim Fahey. Mayor- elect Wendall led the pet parade with his fellow candidates and participants.

Other pets that got elected were Smokey (the Horse) as mayor pro tem, Peanut (the dog) as the new village administrator, Fozzie Bear (the alpaca) as the new fire chief, Bella (the dog) as the new director of Barks and Recreation, and George (the guinea pig) as the new police chief.

“All candidates were awarded participant ribbons and gift baskets provided by the Village Mercantile. The election made almost $3,900, which will benefit animal organizations in Corrales,” longtime organizer Tracy Stabenow said.

Stabenow has been organizing the pet mayor election for the past six years.

“The pet mayor election started when a woman was in a foreign country and saw that a pet mayor election was happening there. She brought the idea back to Corrales,” Stabenow said.

The pet mayor election is an annual tradition and part of the Corrales Harvest Festival, and both are put on by the Kiwanis Club of Corrales.

To become a pet mayor candidate, animal owners simply complete the application on the festival’s website starting in June. The candidates send in a photo, campaign slogan and campaign flyer, and then the voting begins. Voting is, at a minimum, $1 per vote, and people can vote as much as they want. The money raised benefits animal organizations in Corrales.

“Yes, elections can be bought in Corrales. Voting is online and at voting boxes at businesses around Corrales,” Stabenow jokingly said about the next pet election.