Knowledge | Posted by Aye Myat Thu
A small California mountain town has become a popular place to visit after setting itself apart from other neighboring tourist hotspots.
Idyllwild, which is located in the San Jacinto Mountains around two hours from Los Angeles and boasts a population of just 4,000 people, has no ski resort, no Starbucks and no stoplights, SFGate reported.
Chris Perreault, a a 30-year resident and volunteer with the Idyllwild Area Historical Society, told the outlet: 'I very much think that we like it that way. We like being little. We like being different. We like not being huge.' But what is even more unusual about the town is that it is governed by a young golden retriever.
Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller III, also known as Mayor Max, is the third official animal mayor of Idyllwild.
Phyllis Mueller, 72, and her husband, Glen Warren, 59, serve as the mayor's co-chiefs of staff and caretakers.
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(Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller III, also known as Mayor Max, is the third official animal mayor of Idyllwild, California)
(Phyllis Mueller, 72, and her husband, Glen Warren, 59, serve as the mayor’s co-chiefs of staff and caretakers)
Max's appointment is a part of a tradition that began back in 2012, when a group named Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends started a fundraiser to elect a mayor without any human candidates. 'We don’t have local politicians except for Mayor Max. If we need something done, we create a group and get it done,' Mueller told The Hollywood Reporter.
Local political decisions in the unincorporated town, which is nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains towering over Palm Springs, are handled by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
'The mayor's out in the public every day and on weekends. We just do kind and loving things for people. But we do it all day long,' Mueller added.
To participate in the election, voters are required to be residents of Idyllwild or the nearby towns of Fern Valley, Pine Cove or Mountain Center and pay a dollar.
Max successfully defeated 13 other dogs and two cats with 21,132 votes - while raising over $31,000.
(Meadow Mighty-Dog Mueller (right), Mayor Max's sister from the same litter, also acts as vice mayor of Idyllwild)
(Local political decisions in the unincorporated town, which is nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains towering over Palm Springs, are handled by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors)
(Max successfully defeated 13 other dogs and two cats with 21,132 votes - while raising over $31,000)
"When you become the president of the United States, half the people in the country hate you on the first day - that's not fun"
'If I publish that Mayor Max is going to be downtown at 2pm, hundreds of people will come because it’s interesting and unusual to see a dog as a mayor,' she told the Los Angeles Times.
Ref: The stunning mountain town with no ski resort, no stoplights, no Starbucks - and where a dog named Max is mayor (dailymail)
