- Simon won the election against Bertram the Pomeranian, who unfortunately died before he could take oath as deputy mayor.
- Simon’s campaign focused on promoting animal rescue and adoption in New York City.
- Several other U.S. towns and cities, including Cormorant, Minnesota, and Idyllwild, California, also have dog mayors.
New York City has a new mayor and no, he is not replacing Eric Adams.
Simon, rescue basset hound/cattle dog mix, was sworn in as the second dog mayor of New York City on Jan. 26 outside the City Hall in downtown Manhattan. Some of the city’s most prominent elected officials were at the indoguration, including Council Member Erik Bottcher and State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is also running for human mayor of the city.
Public advocate Jumaane Williams administered the “oaf of office.” Simon pledged to uphold the office with “dog-mity” for all, sealing the deal with a firm shake of the paw. Simon took over the responsibilities from Mayor Sally Long Dog.
Pepper the mini chocolate dachshund was also sworn in as the mayor’s chief deputy.
Thrilling election
Simon was elected mayor after a dramatic competition with Bertram the Pomeranian, and was officially announced the winner on Nov. 12 after Bertram conceded. Elections took place on Nov. 11.
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“While Simon won in polls on our Facebook group and website, Bertie held a substantial lead on our Instagram poll,” a Nov. 12 post on the dog mayor’s official Facebook account said. “However, we noticed on the back end many accounts that appeared to be bots that flooded the poll at certain times.”
Election organizers said the only way around the bot ballots would be to manually count the 22,000 votes. Instead, the “magnanimous Bertram opted not to subject our city and country to such a fraught and laborious process, instead conceding the race to Simon.”
Bertram was announced the Deputy Dog mayor-elect and the two were set to take oath the next week on Nov. 19. Unfortunately, a week later Bertie died, leaving behind a “saddened and heartbroken” community.
The dog mayor’s office announced Pepper as the new deputy dog mayor in January.
“With several pups in the line of succession unavailable, Pepper proved up to the task, eager to advocate on behalf of his fellow New Yorkers, short- and long-legged alike,” the dog mayor’s office said.
Who is Simon, New York’s new dog mayor?
Simon, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is a 7-year-old basset hound/cattle dog mix. He arrived in the Big Apple in 2021 via the Hearts & Bones Rescue in Texas and was adopted by his foster mom Sophie Vershbow, according to his official bio.
Simon enjoys long walks in the park, hosting friends and fosters, and “keeping his mom’s writing assignments on schedule.”
Vershbow told USA TODAY that she hopes “to use Simon’s platform to promote animal rescue and adoption throughout the five boroughs” over the next two years.
“There are countless dogs as amazing as Simon still looking for their forever homes,” Vershbow said.
NYC dog mayor history
The dog mayoral election was spearheaded by Stephen Calabria, who now serves as director of the Honorary NYC Dog Mayor Election. Calabria told USA TODAY that he was inspired after seeing an article on the election of a dog mayor in Littleton, Colorado, in 2022.
“My first thought was that this could work for New York,” Calabria said.
Calabria said he then workshopped the idea with a few friends and defined the purpose behind holding the elections, deciding it could be used to spotlight pet fostering and dog adoption, “a crisis” in New York City, while also tying it with “satire, comedy and just silliness.” Calabria’s background as a political journalist and an internship in the U.S. Senate, along with running podcasts for New York’s famed Comedy Cellar, inspired him to “join these worlds through” the dog mayor elections.
“It seemed like a productive and cute way to exercise activism and get things done for a vulnerable population that needed it most,” Calabria said.
Candidates for the election were chosen from their online and public presence for maximum exposure, while polling took place on Facebook, Instagram and the dogmayor’s own website. Calabria explained the voting process was tedious because they wanted to ensure that only real people were involved in the election.
“I am grateful and thankful for all of the folks who were involved and who continue to see this as a positive vehicle for fun and for change,” Calabria said.
Dogmayor’s future
Calabria said Simon has tough challenges ahead of him as mayor.
“He has set this responsibility for himself to advocate for greater fostering and adoption for New York City’s beleaguered system of caring for vulnerable animals,” Calabria said. “He is going to appear at a great many city events, and his last responsibility is to serve as a positive role model for New York City’s elected officials, both human and alike.”
Calabria hopes to hold the dogmayor elections every three years.
“I figured that if this project was going to succeed, it needed to mirror government as much as possible, because then the jokes just write themselves,” Calabria said.
Dog mayors in other states
Simon is not the only dog mayor in the U.S. In August last year, Khaleesi Sherbrooke, a Great Pyrenees, was elected mayor of Cormorant, a small town in Minnesota. And a golden retriever named Max is the mayor of Idyllwild, a small mountain community in Southern California.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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