LITTLETON, Colo. — It only took newly elected Mayor Kyle Schlachter a few days to realize that he wasn't the only top dog in politics in Littleton.
"They didn't ask me about it," Schlachter told Denver7.
A few days into his term as mayor, the first time the voters directly elected a mayor in Littleton, Schlachter learned that he wouldn't be the only one in the city with that title.
"We weren't electing a human," said Katherine Roxborough of Historic Littleton Inc. "The candidates were of the canine sort."
Littleton was set to elect its first honorary dog mayor. It was a contest to bring attention to historic preservation within the city.
"We wanted to heighten awareness," Roxborough said.
Each dog candidate posed for photos in front of historic sites in Littleton. Voters responded, casting a total of more than 6,000 votes. In the end, the winner was Murdoch, a 5-year-old basset hound.
"He's a lover of people," owner Beverly Pillow said. "And he loves to give big slobbery kisses."
The 6,000-vote total was nearly half as many votes as the actual mayoral election.
"They had a shorter campaign cycle," actual Mayor Schlachter said. "If they had gone the same length that we did, who knows how many votes the dogs would've gotten."
Schlachter sat down with Denver7 to discuss his canine counterpart, including if he was ever worried about the "other" mayor.
"I feel confident," he said. "Thankfully, this new dog only has a two-year term. I have a four-year term."
Meanwhile, Mayor Murdoch is out and about in the community every day (on his daily walk). He shakes hands with almost every constituent that stops him.
"That's the only trick he knows," owner Beverly said with a smile, giving Murdoch the command and rewarding him with a treat.
The new mayor also didn't come alone. He was elected alongside his dog mayor pro tem, a French bulldog named Netty.
For more information about Historic Littleton, head to https://hlinc.org/.
Jason Gruenauer at KMGH first reported this story.
