Friday marked an interesting milestone in my journalism career: I conducted my first-ever interview with a dog.
Meet Jake — or, as his constituents affectionately call him, Jake the Dog — Somerville’s first and newly elected dog mayor. A longtime resident with over a decade of experience sniffing out the city’s best parks, Jake knows Somerville inside and out. From meeting neighbors on his daily walks to attending events, he is very active in the community. His owner (and campaign manager), Shani Leichter, spoke to the Daily about Jake’s campaign experience as well as his plans for his mayorship.
The mayoral election was organized by local pet store Scritches & Boops in the Spring Hill area of Somerville.
“The owner [of Scritches & Boops], Michele, decided to run a dog mayor campaign,” Leichter said. “We’ve joked for years that Jake is the dog mayor of Somerville, so he had to throw his hat in the ring.”
Somerville has a large dog community, many of whom are evidently civically engaged. A total of 40 dogs ran for mayor, each with a compelling platform. As a practically lifelong resident of Somerville, Jake’s preexisting relationships with locals and local businesses contributed to his win.
“Jake’s 10 and a half [years old], and he has lived here since he was 11 weeks old,” Leichter said. “I think already having spent 10 years building those relationships was … what set [his campaign] over the top.”
Jake did a lot of boots on the ground campaigning. The hair salons and veterinary office Jake frequents displayed his campaign signage on their front counters. Jake and Leichter also passed out business cards and campaign materials to their favorite local haunts.
“We actually did most of our campaigning on the ground, going out and talking to people. We made up little business card sized-things with a QR code to vote, and we hit up a lot of our regular spots,” Leichter said. “We leveraged those relationships, and it was really cool to see how many people were so invested in Jake and in his campaign.”
Campaigns ran for approximately six weeks, and voting was completed via Google Forms. Jake ultimately emerged victorious.
His campaign, much like that of the other dogs in the race, focused on issues relevant to Somerville dogs and dogs in general.
“Jake’s official campaign issues were more dog friendly places, greater access to treats and promoting rescuing,” Leichter said.
Jake himself is a rescue, so Leichter cares deeply about promoting pet adoption out of shelters.
“We’re always promoting adoption and rescues,” she said. “There [are] so many dogs that need homes. And [Jake is] the best dog ever, [so] he’s a good ambassador for that.”
Jake also cares a lot about supporting local businesses. In fact, two of Jake’s favorite treat brands are Boston-based.
“We like to support local businesses. Polkadog is definitely [a favorite] and then 2 Dogs Treats out of Dorchester has been our staple for him since he was like a baby,” Leichter said.
Jake also frequents small businesses in and around Somerville, either just to pop in or to sit on the patio.
“We love Vinal Bakery, Colette Bakery and 3 Little Figs, and a lot of the breweries around are really chill,” Leichter said. “We like Bow Market. [Jake] likes it because there [are] always crumbs.”
As mayor, Jake is expanding upon his original platform and is taking real-time issues in Somerville into consideration.
“We’re all really nervous about the shutdown and the loss of SNAP, and stuff like that impacts people’s animals too,” Leichter said. “Trying to make sure that we can support people in taking care of their pets so they don’t have to rehome them or surrender them is probably a really big issue for Jake at the moment.”
Leichter said life hasn’t changed too much for Jake since becoming mayor, but he’s been keeping busy. Public appearances are becoming routine.
“He is judging [the Lincoln Park] dog costume contest,” she said. “We’re also gonna do some fundraising for the [Somerville Animal] Food Pantry.”
Jake also hopes to gather dog toys for local shelters, especially in advance of the holiday season.
Jake recently appointed a cabinet of dogs who were involved in the mayoral election. Sisters Missy and Luna are now co-directors of diversity, equity and inclusion, Cali is chief of rat control (she’s allegedly killed 66 rats) and Jess is head of raccoon enforcement.
“There were so many dogs that were interested in running, and everyone had such a good time with it,” Leichter said. “So, we named a cabinet this week to get more people involved.”
Leichter cited the dog mayoral race as a source of joy in the community.
“It was such a nice distraction from all the heaviness of the world right now,” she said. “It was really cool to just see how many people showed up for Jake.”
The election also demonstrated Somerville’s tradition of civic engagement for both people and now dogs.
“There was definitely a reflection of Somerville’s kind of overall community values and activism,” Leichter said.
Jake is personable, popular and pretty well-rounded. He enjoys both the beach and the mountains, both bodies of water and city streets.
“He’s really a very laid-back, up-for-anything kind of guy,” Leichter said.
We interviewed on Halloween, and I complimented Jake’s skeleton-patterned bandana. Jake, though, ever-professional, was only dressed casually because of the holiday.
“Normally he would wear a bow tie for a formal interview,” Leichter said.
