Labrador ‘runs’ for mayor of Fairhope, Alabama

photo credit: jespahjoy

One of the candidates in the race to become Fairhope's next mayor is considerably more hairy than the rest. He also has twice as many legs and a constantly wagging tail. Wille Bean Roscoe P. Coltrane is a 7-year-old yellow Labrador retriever whose owner has taken a satirical poke at politics by launching the pooch into the race.

But Willie Bean may not be up for that rough-and-tumble world.

"When a little dog barks at him, he cringes and he runs away," owner Tress Turner told the Press-Register in a story Sunday.

Turner, 43, manages The Coffee Loft, which is also the dog's campaign headquarters where supporters can purchase T-shirts and yard signs.

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Fairhope, Alabama, is my hometown.  I asked my dad to snag one of those "Vote Willie Bean" t-shirts for me.  Let me know if you want one.

I'm not surprised that the citizens of Fairhope are (satirically - I think) rallying around a canine candidate for its mayoral elections.  Fairhope has always been a little bit...unusual.  After all, it was established as a utopian colony.

Need proof?  Ask Wikipedia:

Fairhope was founded in November, 1894 on the site of former Alabama City as a utopian single tax colony by the "Fairhope Industrial Association": a group of 28 followers of economist Henry George who had incorporated earlier that year in Des Moines, Iowa. Their corporate constitution explained their purpose in founding a new colony:

"to establish and conduct a model community or colony, free from all forms of private monopoly, and to secure to its members therein equality of opportunity, the full reward of individual efforts, and the benefits of co-operation in matters of general concern."

In forming their demonstration project, they pooled their funds to purchase land at "Stapleton's pasture" on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and then divided it into a number of long-term leaseholds. The corporation paid all governmental taxes from rents paid by the lessees, thus simulating a single-tax. The purpose of the singe-tax colony was to eliminate disincentives for productive use of land and thereby retain the value of land for the community.

The Fairhope Single Tax Coporation is the reason Fairhop has so many public parks (perfect for walking your dog, cat, or ferret).  If you want to know more about it, read this New York Times article on the Fairhope SIngle Tax Corporation.

By the way, Fairhope's "The Coffee Loft" is my favorite coffee shop ever.  If you go there you'll probably love it too, especially if you order a hot dark mocha.  Their mochas are really chocolate-y and they know how to pull a good espresso.

The Coffee Loft isn't the only animal-friendly entity in Fairhope.  There are many groups of people who help animals in and around Fairhope, but my personal favorite is the Baldwin Animal Rescue Center (BARC).  For the sake of transparency, I ought to tell you that my dad is on BARC's board of directors - but don't you think Kitty Mowmow's father would choose to support the best of the bunch? ;D

-MJ Schindler, aka Kitty Mowmow