Goat Elected 'Mayor' in Vermont

Lincoln, the goat, has been elected mayor of the Vermont town of Fair Haven.

The 3-year-old Nubian goat will spend one-year term making public appearances, going to occasions, and marching in the Memorial Day parade, as reported by Rutland Herald.

"Originally we did it as a fundraiser to replace the playground behind the school, but it really turned into a small civic lesson for the children. 'Come out and vote. Get involved in the town.'"

Chosen recently by townspeople, Lincoln beat out a dog named Sammie by only three votes: 13 to 10.

The goat was presented by a math teacher from Fair Haven Grade School named Christopher Stanton.

Fair Haven doesn't have a human mayor. The election was an idea of Town Manager Joe Gunter.

“I was flipping through a newspaper that came from Michigan ... and I saw a small town in northern Michigan was doing this,” Gunter said. “So we thought, “This is a great idea.”

According to him, the election became an educational opportunity for the town's kids.

"Originally we did it as a fundraiser to replace the playground behind the school, but it really turned into a small civic lesson for the children. 'Come out and vote. Get involved in the town,'" he said.

Gunter thanked teacher Wayne “Skip” Cooke, the students, and the school for their support to make this happen. He accentuated that individuals would think the election was odd.

"I'm relatively new, and I thought people would just think I was a silly flatlander," he said.

However, the feedback has been very positive. Gunter stated:

"It really took off! Some people wish they'd seen it earlier, so they could've entered their pets."

Fair Haven is located along the state's border with New York. It has a population of about 2,500 people.