You can be the Mayor of Metamora Indiana!

You can be the Mayor! Metamora is going to elect an honorary Mayor as a fundraising event for the "I Believe" Southeast Indiana Whitewater Canal Corridor Regional Interpretive Center.

There are no residency requirements to run for Mayor. In fact, there are only TWO requirements to get on the ballot: You must 1) be breathing, and 2) have no more than four (4) legs!

Did you ever want to be the Mayor of your own little town in the Midwestern U.S.? How about putting up your daughter, friend, or your favorite pet (not more than four legs, please)? And not just any town, but the wonderful historic village of Metamora! All you have to do to register to get on the ballot as a candidate is go to www.MetamoraIndiana.com/Mayor.htm and sign up yourself or your friend(s), paying the $20 registration fee with your credit card or Paypal account.

Registered candidates will receive a very nice frameable certificate stating they are on the ballot for the Mayor of Metamora in 2006.

Voting for yourself or other candidates can be done online also from the Mayor election web page. Just like in small town politics the world over, money talks! All votes are purchased for $1 per vote. VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN! Get your friends, family and co-workers to vote for you, and you can actually be elected as honorary Mayor. You need not be present at the final voting event in early August to win, and duties of the person elected are whatever the Mayor wants them to be.

All funds received will be used first to finish the new Public Restroom Facility on the east end of the historic district, then all remaining funds raised will be used towards the $1 million purchase price of the property for the Whitewater Canal Corridor Regional Interpretive Center near the middle of town.

So get in on the fun, help a wonderful cause, and start by registering yourself as a candidate now through the web by going to http://www.MetamoraIndiana.com/Mayor.htm. Your certificate will be mailed to you.

Current candidates include Bonnie, the horse that pulls the carriage ride in town, Grandma Beyer, grandmother of ten, Crystal, the three-year-old daughter of a local shopkeeper, Whiffy, the skunk mascot of a Metamora coffee bar, and Sheri Riggs, a local shopkeeper.

Make yourself the next candidate!

Please note: Only for those who wish to participate: There will be a formal public introduction of all registered candidates on the June 3/4 weekend in Metamora, and a candidates debate on the July 4 weekend (candidates may have a human or adult campaign manager speak for them if desired).

Ready For Visitors

Metamora is greening up quite nicely as we head deeper into springtime! The Grist Mill is now open, and the Canal Boat is back in service after a winter "hanging out" in Gordon's Lock.

Horse Controversy for Metamora Mayor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Steve Collier
President, Metamora Economic Development Corporation
Post Office Box 95
Metamora, Indiana 47030
(765) 647-4328 (Daytime except Mondays)
(812) 623-1114 (Home)
stevecollier@suscom.net
http://www.metamoraindiana.com/


CONTROVERSY OVER HORSE FOR MAYOR LOOMS BETWEEN STATE AND METAMORA

Metamora, Indiana – May 1, 2006 – In the first-ever election for honorary Mayor in this small historic town in Southeast Indiana, candidates must meet only two requirements—they must be breathing, and they must have no more than four legs. Jerry, the Belgian draft horse that pulls the state-owned canal boat down the state-owned canal for tourist rides, meets those two requirements. But some think that it would be a conflict of interest for a state employee to hold the only public office in the town. So the question facing the State of Indiana today is whether or not a draft horse is truly considered a state employee.

This small historic canal town and tourist village is conducting an Honorary Mayor election as a fundraiser for additional public restroom facilities and for the construction of a Southeast Indiana regional Interpretive Center. Since this is an honorary position, there are no residency requirements for the job of Mayor. Anyone who meets the two requirements can run for the office. But, as is frequently the way in small-town American politics, there is always someone trying to stretch the rules- such as, in this case, running Jerry, an employee of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, for Mayor in the town in which he works.

With Candidate registration just beginning Saturday, the only candidates currently on the ballot are Bonnie, the horse that pulls the carriage ride through the scenic town, and Whiffy, the skunk- mascot of the Smelly Gourmet coffee bar on Main Street in Metamora.

It is believed there will be several other candidates on the ballot, which only requires a $20 fee to register—and gets the candidate a nice frameable certificate stating they ran for Mayor in the town. Other possible candidates include one of the town’s ducks (who better to deal with the duck poop issue?), a fish (which brings up the question about whether or not the thing fish do with their gills is actually “breathing”), and several humans including possibly Trapper the local chicken hypnotizer known for hypnotizing his rooster into thinking it’s a duck. But since the job is open nationwide to anyone with $20, its hard to tell who might materialize as the election continues through the summer.

And in any case, its hard to tell which candidate might win the election- voting will continue through the summer as the campaign progresses, and electors are genuinely encouraged to “vote early and often”. As is usually true, but frequently denied, in all elections, all votes are purchased – in Metamora’s case, for $1 each. Voting commences June 3 and continues through August.

But the overriding issue at the moment seems to be whether or not Jerry’s candidacy will be allowed by the state of Indiana, and would it violate Indiana’s conflict of interest laws by Jerry’s running as Mayor while he is a state of Indiana employee in the town.

No response has yet been obtained from the Indiana Secretary of State of Department of Natural Resources (Jerry’s boss) offices.

Anyone can buy their way onto the ballot, and cast their votes, with their credit card by going to www.MetamoraIndiana.com/Mayor.htm



END OF PRESS RELEASE