Meet the mayor of Talkeetna
A cat named Stubbs lies on a tarp in an alley in Talkeetna, Alaska. Locals know him as Mayor Stubbs, a 15-year-old yellow cat who has been overseeing the town since shortly after he was born. (AP Photo/Sandy Bubar)
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 ( http://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.
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Reported by the ASSOCIATED PRESS from TALKEETNA, Alaska. Information from: KTUU-TV, http://www.ktuu.com
