File photo: Robert 'Bobby' Tufts
Seasoned politician! A 4-year-old boy, who has not made it to pre-school yet, has been re-elected as the mayor of a US town.
Mayor Robert "Bobby" Tufts was re-elected as the mayor of Dorset, a small town in Minnesota yesterday. Bobby was first elected as a three-year-old.
Tufts managed to get re-elected as mayor of the tiny tourist location after his name was once again picked at the annual Taste of Dorset festival, local media reports said.
Dorset does not have a city government, so its population of between 22 to 28 people, which changes whether the minister and his family are in town, are allowed to vote for their mayor as many times as they like, at the low cost of just USD 1 a vote.
There are various ballot boxes around stores in town, and the money raised from the polling is then used to help organise a festival for the people of Dorset. Mayor Tufts picked a man out of the crowd at random, who was then blindfolded twice and asked to pick the name out of a tub.
"I got up super early before anyone," Bobby was quoted by CBS affiliate WCCO as saying. Bobby celebrated his victory as only a four-year-old can - with an ice cream.
Emma Tufts, Bobby's mother, admitted that the ruler of Dorset was a little tired after the day's excursions, especially considering he had been conducting interviews since 3 o' clock. Bobby's first year as mayor of Dorset was a rousing success as he raised USD 750 from a summer walk and he also plans to donate money from yesterday's T-shirt sale to charity too.
During his second term, Bobby will raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo and he has also vowed to build a new welcome sign for Dorset.