Viral Cat Mayoral Race in Mass. with Over 70 Candidates Elects a Winner

The cat mayoral race in Somerville, Mass., has come to an end, and a Bike Path Mayor for the community has been chosen. 

On Sunday, Sept. 14, residents of the small town learned which of their four-legged denizens would rule over the Somerville Community Path as the “Bike Path Mayor.” What started as an inside joke among neighbors evolved into a full-blown art installation, featuring dozens of campaign signs for the over 70 pet candidates — mostly cats, a couple of dogs, and a few other pets — lining the area near the bike path.

The sitting mayor, a 3-year-old shorthair indoor-outdoor cat named Berry who enjoys hanging out near the bike path, was appointed the humorous role by his owner, Mallory Bissett, back in July. The move led other local pet owners to jokingly contest that their pets deserved a shot at the title as well. 

From this lighthearted local feud sprang an intense, viral mayoral race that caught the attention of the nation. According to NBC10, after a little over two weeks of voting on over 70 candidates, Minerva the cat came out the winner. Minerva stood out from other feline candidates with her one-word campaign slogan: “Crime.” 

“Minerva’s platform of crime, I think, really resonated with people,” said one Somervillian to the Boston Globe. “Minerva’s platform inspired someone to steal Minerva’s sign and also steal the QR code voting sign, right before the last day of the election.”

Minerva’s owner, Daniel Abraham, shared a brief statement at the unveiling of the sign proclaiming Minerva the winner of the Bike Path Mayor race.

“Minerva asked me to say one thing on her behalf and only one thing: Crime,” said Abraham, as he stuck a sticker of the winning cat to the sign in front of a cheering crowd. 

PEOPLE reached out to Somerville’s mayor, Katjana Ballantyne, during the race, and she shared her early endorsement for Berry.

“Berry does have my endorsement as a proven leader defending our bike path values. I also admire her approach to rat control,” said Ballantyne at the time. “This race has been absolutely purr-fect for our community, capturing our creativity and community spirit. Nothing brings people together like debating whether Puzzle’s platform calling for more catnaps is fiscally responsible.”

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PEOPLE has reached out to Ballantyne for her reaction to the final results of the election.

Other kitty candidates who went up against Minerva include Pirate, who led a “More Kibble For All” campaign, and Puzzle, who advocated for cat naps for all.