Does your pet have what it takes to be Missoula County’s first-ever ‘Pet Commissioner?

Do you have a diplomatic dog or a charismatic cat, or even a politically correct parrot?

Well, take their photo and submit it today, and they could become Missoula County’s first-ever ‘Pet Commissioner’.

We spoke Monday to County Communications Director Allison Franz who provided details about the latest political campaign.

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“We just launched today, our first ever Pet Commissioner contest,” said Franz. “So it's just kind of a fun little way for people to get involved with local government. Folks can go to our engagement platform called Missoula County voice.com and you'll see a little tile at the top there for the Pet Commissioner contest. We're asking folks to just submit a photo and a couple of sentences about their pet. Just tell us why you think they would be a good Pet Commissioner.”

Franz said they have ‘scratched’ any debates and there will be no candidate forums. It’s purely a ‘pupularity’ contest.

“It's going to be strictly based on voting, and once the submission portion closes, we'll have the voting open,” she said. “People can submit their pets through August 20, and then on August 21 voting will start and basically you just go vote for your favorite pet, and then whichever one has the most votes will be deemed the Pet Commissioner.”

Franz said one of the motivations for the contest is for more Missoula County residents to get involved with their website portal ‘Missoula County Voice’.

“This is a fun contest where people to go to Missoula County Voice and take part, but there are also a lot of other projects and initiatives on there (the portal) that the county is working on that might be of interest to people and they might want to learn more about and provide their ideas and opinions and thoughts on,” she said. “This is just another fun way to get engaged with local government.”

Franz said the winning pet will have to be ready to assume the responsibility of being the first ever ‘Pet Commissioner’.

“Well I haven't run this by legal but I'm assuming they'll have all the same powers that the regular commissioners,” she laughed. “It's just a joke. But so yeah, we're going to have some fun with it. We're going to write a proclamation that the commissioners will read at a public meeting and then the winner will also get a $25 gift card to Murdock's. We're also thinking of some other fun events that maybe the pet Commissioner could preside over during the year. So, more to come.”

The Pet Commissioner will serve for one year, but there was no discussion about whether the pet could run for a second term.

So, register your pet today!

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