Some towns argue for weeks over who should be mayor. Not in Idyllwild, California. They just gave the job to a golden retriever & kept it that way for years, with the whole thing starting with a fundraiser in 2012. It somehow turned into a tradition.
But how? Why? And will they ever elect a human mayor? Let’s find out.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Key takeaway
You’ll learn:
- How the town’s status created this fundraiser.
- The 2012 election details, including who ran & how voting worked
- The timeline from Mayor Max I to Mayor Max II
- Why the community kept the canine in the job
- What Mayor Max II actually did day to day & how people responded.
Where this happened
Idyllwild is in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California, & it’s one of those places where you see winding roads instead of freeways. Highway 243 takes you up through the pines. However, since the town’s unincorporated, there’s no city government at all or an official mayor. That makes it quite easy for residents to have a little fun with the idea.
How a dog first landed the job
In June 2012, the animal rescue group ARF (Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends) decided to raise money by holding an election…of sorts. But there was a catch. Only pets could run. As a result, fourteen dogs & two cats ended up on the ballot, with votes being a dollar each.
To nobody’s surprise, people were quite enthusiastic about this & they raised more than $31,000 before the “voting” ended. The winner was Max, a golden retriever.
Sadly, Mayor Max I didn’t serve long as he passed away on April 2, 2013. But another golden retriever from the same family line arrived in Idyllwild that same summer. On July 21, 2013, Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller II officially stepped in to finish out the term, with people calling him Mayor Max II from then on.
Why the town kept re-electing the dog
So why did they keep re-electing him? Well, in 2014, Max II’s first term was about to end & organizers thought about running another fundraiser. Yet they announced he’d just stay in office for life, and the community didn’t seem to mind at all. You can’t really argue with a mayor who’s running the show by wagging his tail. Can you?
What Mayor Max II did in office
However, Mayor Max II didn’t exactly take the job easily by hanging out at home because he was actually out all the time. He rode in the back of his owners’ white pickup & led parades. Mayor Max II also posed for photos and even made hospital visits, with families passing through lining up for a quick pic. Schools in the area invited him out for assemblies.
Essentially, he became the unofficial greeter of Idyllwild.
He was also more “honest” than most legitimate politicians. Why? Because the day-to-day costs of keeping the “mayor’s office” running, like the truck & the costumes, came from his handlers, rather than the donations.
How the public reacted
It’s not hard to see the impact of Mayor Max II’s election. Whenever the mayor’s truck rolled through, visitors lined the streets to wave & locals waited for their turn to take photos. News outlets also picked up the story. Before long, Mayor Max II was a regular feature for anyone writing about quirky small-town America.
Mayor Max II caught the attention of Riverside County officials, who acknowledged him at events & allowed him to show up alongside community leaders for ceremonies. It may have been an honorary role. But he got treated a lot like a real mayor.
By 2019, big outlets began profiling him, describing his daily photo stops & parade appearances. Regional magazines also ran pieces about him in 2021, along with his role in holiday celebrations.
The end of his tenure and succession
On July 30, 2022, Mayor Max II sadly passed away at 9 years old. But another golden retriever from the same line took over the office the same year & he kept the tradition going. Max III serves to this day.
Here’s a timeline of what happened:
- 2012: ARF holds a pet election & Max I wins
- 2013: Max I dies & Max II takes over
- 2014: Max II is “re-elected” & becomes “mayor for life”
- 2022: Max II dies & Max III takes his place
It might sound strange. But there’s a lot to learn from animal mayors like Mayor Max I & Max II, including that the “politics” of a place sometimes just involve bringing people together.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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