The Alaskan town that elected a cat as its mayor
For twenty years, the small historic town of Talkeetna, Alaska, was led by an honorary mayor named Stubbs. Stubbs was not a politician, but a tail-less ginger cat. Disgruntled voters write-in elected him in 1997 as a protest. He spent his long career hanging out at the local general store, drinking water spiked with catnip out of wine glasses, and drawing thousands of tourists.
The Kitten on the Counter
In the summer of 1997, a manager at Nagley's General Store in Talkeetna, Alaska, named Lauri Stec discovered a box of abandoned kittens in the store parking lot. Among the litter was a small ginger-colored kitten lacking a full tail. Stec decided to keep the kitten, naming him Stubbs due to his distinct lack of a tail. Talkeetna, a historic settlement situated near the base of Denali, was home to fewer than a thousand year-round residents and featured a quiet, rustic downtown centered around timber buildings and small independent businesses.
Shortly after his adoption, Stubbs became a permanent fixture atop the wooden counters and aisles of Nagley's Store. His presence coincided with a growing local narrative that the cat had been chosen by the town's voters. According to the popular story that quickly spread beyond state borders, local residents were frustrated with the human political candidates running for local office in 1997 and chose instead to write in the name of the ginger kitten. While the story was colorful and memorable, the real mechanics of Stubbs's political career were rooted in Alaska's unique civic structure.
The Truth Behind the Election
Despite hundreds of international news articles declaring that Stubbs had won a contested election, the reality of Talkeetna's municipal government tells a different story. Talkeetna is not an incorporated city; it is an unincorporated historical community within the larger Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Because it has no municipal charter, Talkeetna has never possessed a municipal government, a city council, or an official office of the mayor.
Without an actual mayoral election on the municipal ballot, there were no official human candidates running for office to inspire a protest vote in 1997. Instead, the title of mayor was entirely honorary, conceived and maintained by local residents and shopkeepers as a lighthearted community identity. The town is officially administered by the borough assembly in Palmer, Alaska. Nevertheless, the concept of a small Alaskan town governed by a tailless cat resonated strongly with the public, transforming an informal local joke into a long-running national and international media phenomenon.