Duke the dog re-elected for third term as mayor of Minnesota town

The village of Cormorant, Minn. re-elected a dog as their mayor for the third year in a row on Saturday.

Mayor Duke, an eight-year-old Great Pyrenees, will preside over the four-block-long village with a population of 12.

Cormorant Village never had a mayor before Duke was elected in 2014.

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Locals decided that a mayoral race would be an engaging way to raise funds for the annual Cormorant Daze, a village summer festival. Each vote would cost $1 to cast.

Cormorant Pub owner Tricia Maloney said the votes for Duke blew herself and another store owner out of the water.

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“It was unanimous,” she said.

This year’s vote garnered around 50 ballots. Maloney said most were for the incumbent, but two were cast for another human local while one ballot was cast for the fictional canine “Lassie, Mayor Duke’s girlfriend.”

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Connie Jahnke, another local shop owner, said Duke makes a great mayor.

“He’s such a presence. He’s so big and white and slow and sweet. We all love him,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He's such a presence. He's so big and white and slow and sweet. We all love him," she said.

Villagers believe Mayor Duke has done great things for them, including slowing down speeding traffic just by being a curious presence on the road.

And if anyone was worried Duke was violating any traffic laws, Jahnke didn’t seem to mind.

“He owns the street!” she said.

Taxpayer dollars don’t go towards a formal salary for the mayor, but Maloney said locals are always sharing their food and attention with him.

“We know that there will be a big deal when the good Lord decides to take him home to puppy land, so we do make sure that he’s taken care of,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We know that there will be a big deal when the good Lord decides to take him home to puppy land, so we do make sure that he's taken care of," she said.

Jahnke echoed the sentiment.

“I can’t imagine anybody else representing our village any better.”

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