NEW YORK (1010 WINS) It turns out, there's more going on during this election year than just voting for President. New Yorkers are also choosing a new Honorary Dog Mayor, after incumbent Sally Long Dog decided not to seek re-election.
Sunday, September 1st, the 'canine-didates', as they're being called, will be doing their best tail wags and paw shakes at a rally in City Hall Park from 12:30pm to 4pm.
The contest is taking place March Madness style, with 16 initial contenders, two of whom compete in polls each Wednesday on Instagram stories and on the DogMayorNYC Facebook and X pages. The voting will continue through election week, when a winner and runner up will be chosen.
To date, Ziggy the Yorkie Mix, Pepper the Mini Chocolate Dachshund, Mr. Tobi the Silky Terrier, Simon the Basset-Cattle Dog, Mello the Samoyed and Enzo the Shih Tzu have all advanced, in what's been a difficult choice for many.
"It's really interesting because you get people writing in saying, Oh my gosh. three of my favorite dogs are running for Dog Mayor, and now I don't know what to do", Dog Mayor organizer Stephen Calabria told 1010 WINS.
So far in this election cycle, there haven't been any headline making controversies (except, perhaps, the canine-didates going potty in public, but hey, they're dogs). 1010 WINS asked if they're all 'good boys and good girls'. In a word: yes. "They are (all) exceedingly good boys and good girls. It's finally great to have a bunch of candidates that we can't decide who to vote for, because they're all so good", Calabria said.
Joining the contenders outside City Hall, will be a representative from Mayor Eric Adams' office as well as from other city agencies with information on how the humans can register to vote, as well as how to register your dog for a city required dog license. The rally will also serve as an adoption event, featuring available pets from Animal Care Centers of New York.