With incumbent politicians and their opponents neglecting the issues facing the average cat, felines in one Nova Scotia community have turned to one of their own for help.
“Tuxedo Stanley” is a three-year-old cat running for mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. Instead of running on one of the established political parties’ tickets, he is representing the Tuxedo Party.
“The Tuxedo Party is a political movement aimed to improve the welfare of felines in HRM ‘because neglect isn’t working,’” states the party on its website.
Campaign merchandise ranging from shirts to buttons is available for sale, with proceeds going to the Spay Day HRM fund. The fund helps low-income families spay and neuter their cats in order to prevent the spread of strays.
The city’s official ballot laws prevent animals from holding public office, but this has yet to hurt Stan’s popularity in the polls. The official Facebook page of the Tuxedo Party has achieved over 3,000 likes since June. On Twitter, the official feeds of Stanley and the party itself each have over 300 followers.
“Bought the kid a @TuxedoStan for Mayor button today. Unfortunately, I’m purrfessionally neutered, er, neutral,” tweeted Pam Sword, an editor at the Halifax Chronicle Herald.
“Only two candidates have come to my door and both had no answer about the cat issue in HRM,” Judi Conlon wrote on the Tuxedo Party’s Facebook page.
Even Stanley’s human opponents in the race have weighed in on his campaign. “I can’t vote for@TuxedoStan, but I was at his nomination. These are serious issues,” candidate Mike Savage wrote during a Twitter Q&A session.
While a seat at the municipality’s main desk may not be in the cards for Stanley, his notoriety has nevertheless managed to raise awareness of not only his cause, but also the election itself.
“I’ve never been so interested in politics. Spread the word, Stan!” wrote Leanna Bobanna on the Tuxedo Party’s Facebook page.
Photo via Tuxedo Party/Facebook
