Fourteen canine candidates entered into Madison’s first “Pup Mayor” election

MADISON – The nominations are in and the candidate pool for Madison’s first “Pup Mayor” election will be available for voting today.

The newly formed Main Street Madison organization is giving residents a chance to honor one lucky canine as the city’s first “Pup Mayor”. Nominations closed on Saturday. Fourteen dogs have been entered into the race.

“We are excited to have this Pup Mayor election as a fun way for our community to come together, celebrate our pets, enjoy our downtown and get excited about the continued revitalization of our downtown,” said Main Street Madison Executive Director Jen DeLessio.

Voting for the Pup Mayor will take place through October with weekly updates on Main Street Madison’s social media platforms and online at www.madisonstreetmadison.org. Each vote costs $1 and there is no limit to the number of votes.

“You will also be able to cast votes downtown, just look for QR codes to easily cast votes using your phone,” DeLessio said. “There will also be ‘I voted for Pup Mayor’ stickers available for $1.”

A special “Pup Rally” will be held Thursday, Oct. 30, along Main Street in downtown Madison. It will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. The rally will include a pup parade of candidates, vendors and extended shopping at downtown businesses.

Pup owners are also encouraged to hold individual rallies to solicit votes.

On Nov. 13, there will be a special election and inauguration night “Paw-ty” with a fun pet parade and food trucks. It will be held at Homeplace Park.

The Pup Mayor will have important duties throughout the year like appearances at Main Street Madison events, ribbon cuttings and meet-and-greets. “We hope this will be a fun annual event for the community to celebrate our beloved pets and our beautiful downtown,” DeLessio said.

Kicked off in July, the organization connects the city of Madison, particularly its historic downtown, to the greater Main Street network in Alabama and across the nation, which has been helping strengthen and re-energize downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts for more than 45 years. Each Main Street organization takes on a localized approach, driven by local business owners, community leaders and volunteers.

The funds raised will be used for the Pup Mayor events and support beautification and historic preservation initiatives in the downtown area.

For more information about this fun campaign and Main Street Madison, go to www. mainstreetmadison. org. You can also contact Jen DeLessio at 256-203-6340 or jen. delessio@mainstreetmadison. org for more information about sponsorships.