Bizarre But True! The town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky doesn’t have a human mayor. It never has…
The town’s first elected leader was Goofy Borneman-Calhoun, an adopted dog of unknown parentage, inaugurated in 1998 when Boone County celebrated its 200th birthday. Every mayor was asked to mark the occasion, but Rabbit Hash didn’t have a mayor. So they elected an animal.
Twenty-six years later, the tradition is still running. And it’s raising insane amounts of money.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
In November 2024, Boone, a Bluetick Coonhound, won the mayoral election with 14,162 votes. That’s the highest vote count in the town’s electoral history. The total votes polled reached 26,332.
Here’s what that means: over $26,000 raised for the Rabbit Hash Historical Society in a single election cycle.
The mechanism is simple. Every dollar equals one vote. You can vote as many times as you want. Bribery is encouraged. Officials describe it as “an honest election – the one with the most money wins.”
Conventional voter turnout in rural areas averages 15-20%. Rabbit Hash consistently sees participation rates exceeding 7,000% of its population. The 2020 election drew 22,985 votes from a town of 315 residents…!
What The Money Actually Does
This isn’t symbolic fundraising. The money goes directly to maintaining and preserving the town’s historic buildings and landmarks.
On 13 February 2016, a massive fire struck the historic Rabbit Hash General Store. Five fire departments fought the blaze past midnight, struggling against temperatures that turned hundreds of gallons of water into thick ice.
Before the flames were fully extinguished, local residents vowed the landmark would be completely rebuilt within a year. It was restored and reopened on 1 April 2017. That’s what the dog mayor elections fund. Real preservation. Real infrastructure. Real community continuity.
The Candidates Are Ridiculous (And That’s the Point)
Wilbur’s 2020 campaign beat out a golden retriever, a pit bull, a rooster, and a donkey. Candidates have ranged from chickens to cats to pigs to the whole barnyard.
Lucy Lou ran under the slogan “The Bitch You Can Count On” and held the mayoral seat for eight years, from 2008 to 2016. She became one of the first female mayors in Kentucky history.
The first-ever mayor, Goofy, fathered about half the dogs in the county and died in office in July 2001, aged 16. The next mayor, Junior Cochran, a black lab, rented a tour bus for a nationwide goodwill tour.
Wilbur didn’t lose his 2024 re-election bid. He chose not to run. His administrative assistant explained that four human years is a long time for a dog and Wilbur believes in the importance of term limits.
Why This Works When Serious Fundraising Fails
Most small-town historical societies struggle to raise a few thousand pounds annually through bake sales and membership drives. Rabbit Hash raises over $20,000 in a single day by letting people vote for a dog.
A real election. Real votes. Real dogs. Real money going to real local preservation…
