Grandview Heights is electing a dog mayor, and nominations are open through Wednesday, Sept. 16. The race is a partnership between the City of Grandview Heights and The Wag, the indoor and outdoor dog park and bar at 1330 Norton Ave. The winner gets the title Head Pup in Charge and a year of showing up at the city’s dog events.
“We decided to do it as a fun thing to bring the community together,” Wag owner Casey Meyer told WSYX.
Who can nominate a dog, and how
Nominations come from dog owners who live in Grandview Heights. The entry form is linked from the dog mayor section of The Wag’s events page. It asks for a photo of the dog and a written case for why the dog deserves the job.
The Wag’s own pitch names five qualities it wants in a candidate, and it lists them as Grandview cred, public pup appeal, good neighbor energy, mayoral material and a campaign platform, spelled “pawlatform” on the site.
The form runs on Google Forms and asks for a Google sign-in before it opens, so have your account ready.
How the vote works
After nominations close, a committee of two people from The Wag and three city representatives picks five finalists. Grandview Heights residents then vote for their favorite from Sept. 23 through Oct. 7.
The winner is announced and sworn in on Friday, Oct. 9 at The Wag. The bar is calling it an inauguration party, and Grandview Heights Mayor Greta Kearns is on the bill.
What the dog mayor actually does
The office is ceremonial. The new mayor is expected at the city’s dog-focused events throughout the year, and that’s the whole job description so far.
Entries were already arriving within a day of the announcement. “We’ve gotten quite a few signups already, which is super exciting,” Meyer said.
The Wag is open at 1330 Norton Ave. with 10,000 square feet of indoor space and an acre outdoors. Humans get in free and dogs need a membership.
