Main Street Madison elects first-ever “Pup Mayor”

Pup Mayor Cooper was sworn in with the help of Madison Mayor Ranae Bartlett tonight during a special inauguration celebration at Homeplace Park

Madison Mayor Ranae Bartlett with the city’s first “Pup Mayor” Cooper and his campaign manager and owner Joey Ceci at Thursday night’s inauguration celebration.

MADISON – Madison now has a new mayor – a “Pup Mayor”. After a hard-fought campaign filled with cuteness and plenty of tail wagging, Cooper, a long-time canine resident of the city, pulled in enough votes to lead the pack and secure the title on Nov. 12.  Madison Mayor Ranae Bartlett was on hand Thursday evening to help inaugurate Cooper at a special celebration held at Homeplace Park in downtown Madison.

Main Street Madison has been holding a fun election campaign to name the city’s first canine ambassador. Fourteen adorable pups initially qualified to run for Pup Mayor in Sept., with six finalists competing for the top prize over the past couple of weeks.

According to his campaign manager and owner, Joey Ceci, Cooper found success running on a platform of “daily pup cups for everyone” and “more dogs equal more fun”.

Cooper is a pup mayor that understands the great work of organizations like Madison Animal Rescue Foundation (MARF), being a rescue animal himself. He now leads a very fulfilling life in his golden years with the Ceci family, enjoying walks around Town Madison, the Mill Creek Dog Park and, of course, pup cups from all of Madison’s best coffee spots.

Other pooches in the final running were Max, Barnie, Optimus, Baxter and Ripley. They were, of course, a little down at not being elected, but a pup cup and belly rub consolation prize had their tails quickly wagging again.

Each vote consisted of a $1 donation to Main Street Madison. At the end of Pup Mayor election rally on Oct. 30, the six pooches with the most votes entered the finals.

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

“The race was tight until the last minute of voting!  We are so excited to have our Pup Mayor represent our city and downtown all year long,” said Main Street Madison Executive Director Jen DeLessio. “We had a great team of volunteers who worked very hard on this campaign, and we are also very appreciative to the pup families who entered the race and helped make this such an amazing experience. It was a lot of fun.”

The Pup Mayor will have important duties throughout the year like appearances at Main Street Madison events, ribbon cuttings and meet-and-greets. As Madison’s Pup Mayor, Cooper is up to the task. One of his most enduring qualities, besides being cute, is the fact he never meets a stranger and loves all dogs and people.

DeLessio said the campaign has generated a lot of attention for the new Madison Main Street organization as it tries to promote the city’s downtown area.

“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,” she said. “We hope next year will be even bigger and more fun with more pups running for Mayor.”

The end of the campaign was celebrated Thursday with a fun pet parade, family activities, food trucks and a swearing-in ceremony.

Please reach out to Jen DeLessio at jen.delessio@mainstreetmadison.org if you have any suggestions for how Main Street Madison should run the election next year, or what you would like the Pup Mayor to accomplish this year.

Looking ahead

Now attention turns to the holidays and upcoming ways Main Street Madison plans to promote the city’s historic downtown area. In addition, city leaders and the downtown business community will join Main Street Madison in welcoming the downtown’s designation as an Arts and Entertainment District.

There will be a ribbon cutting for the downtown Arts and Entertainment district on Dec. 1.  “Look for stencils on the sidewalks to denote the district boundaries.  Kelly green cups will be available to walk with your favorite beverage within the boundaries,” DeLessio said.

Christmas in downtown Madison is always a magical experience, and Main Street Madison is helping to bring plenty of cheer this year.

Wassail Fest is scheduled this year on Dec. 5 at 5:30 pm, to coincide with many fun Christmas events downtown, including the Polar Express Christmas Tree Trail lighting ceremony.

“Wassail Fest is a fun event where downtown businesses compete for the best tasting Wassail (a delicious warm, mulled cider),” DeLessio said. “People can sample delicious Wassail inside each participating business and vote for their favorite. Come downtown to experience all the fun and magic of the season with Main Street Madison.”

DeLessio said the organization will be joined by the City of Madison, Madison Station Historical Preservation Society, Madison Arts Alliance, Madison City Community Orchestra, Madison Chamber of Commerce, Madison Public Library, Madison Rotary Club, Madison Visionary Partners and Madison Street Festival.

Madison Arts Alliance will lead individuals in decorating Christmas ornaments to brighten a spot at home. Talented musicians in Madison City Community Orchestra will perform Christmas carols.

In addition, Madison Chamber of Commerce staff will handle “Letters to Santa” and lead children in a glow stick parade. Madison Public Library employees will gather children (of all ages) for a reading of “The Polar Express.” For a quick pick-me-up, Madison Rotary Club will serve hot chocolate and cookies as deejay Todd sets the mood.

Madison Visionary Partners will prove that Alabama can have a white Christmas with Snowflake Lane in the pedestrian walkway on Main Street. Gingerbread houses will give flashbacks to childhood Christmases – thanks to volunteers with Madison Street Festival. The trail opening will culminate with none other than Santa Claus (after the City of Madison convinced him to stop by Madison for visits with children who upheld their better-be-good pledges).

Other Christmas events in downtown Madison include:

Holiday Card Lane – Madison Arts Alliance will present artwork by local artists who will exhibit their outdoor, larger-than-life cards in homeowners’ front lawns on Church and Front streets. After sunset, the artwork will be illuminated for drive-by viewing. Card themes vary from religious scenes, cartoon characters, winter landscapes to humorous vignettes.

Madison Christmas Capers – This re-enactment involves the late George Walton ‘Doc’ Hughes at his drug store at 200 Main St. During the Great Depression, Hughes started a holiday tradition, now called “Christmas Chicken Capers.”

On Christmas Eve, ‘Doc’ Hughes threw live chickens from his store’s roof. Residents who caught a chicken redeemed a tag on its leg for merchandise in Hughes’ store . . . and have a fine Christmas dinner.

To relive Hughes’ generosity, his descendants, Larry Anderson and Walt Anderson, now throw gift certificates from the roof to excited residents. Sponsors are City of Madison and Madison Station Historical Preservation Society. The Capers on Dec. 6 will start at 4 p.m. Madison City Community Orchestra will perform Christmas carols. Rotary Club of Madison will serve hot chocolate and cookies.

Roundhouse Christmas Open House – The Madison Roundhouse, a unique icon for the city on Front Street, will have Christmas Open House on Dec. 7 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Madison Station Historical Preservation Society is sponsoring the occasion to tour the building that contains historical documents and photos, especially for downtown properties and owners.

Madison City Community Orchestra Christmas Concert – Madison’s very own orchestra will perform its annual concert for the Christmas season on Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. Individuals could first tour the Roundhouse and then walk to the concert at Madison Methodist Church’s Christian Life Center at 127 Church St. The city is fortunate to serve as the home of these accomplished musicians who present free concerts throughout the year.

After the holidays, the new year will bring a slew of activity downtown. Stay tuned for the opening of new businesses, design and facade improvements, and lots of fun events and promotions with Main Street Madison. Follow Main Street Madison on Facebook and Instagram and on our website at www.mainstreetmadison.org.

Kicked off in July, Main Street Madison 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.

The Main Street Madison organization is always looking for community volunteers and partners!  Please visit the website or contact Jen DeLessio to get involved.