A late entry into an already crowded slate of candidates is getting nearly unanimous support across all parties and political ideologies in Park County.
Perhaps it’s Greta’s platform that’s making local voters universally jump on her bandwagon: “More belly rubs for all.”
“I certainly would like to know what Greta is running for so I can vote for her,” said Cody resident Peter Victor. “She certainly can’t be worse than, like, half the people running.”
That Greta’s a German shepherd doesn’t bother voters like Victor, who said that while he enjoys the joke of a dog running for office, it’s not so funny that there’s some truth behind people’s tongue-in-cheek support for a K-9.
“I think there’s certainly an element of everything becoming so politicized,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s so exhausting, so it’s refreshing to have someone who you can say you know won’t do anything bad — because it’s a dog.”
‘Something That Tickled Me’
Greta was the beloved pet of Elizabeth Jenkins’ parents, who said she made up the campaign sign as a joke.
She put it out near the Cody Post Office along Stampede Avenue in Cody late last week with a host of other signs from political candidates. Then she posted a photo of the sign to a local Facebook page.
In the days since, Greta has had hundreds of comments of support, and Jenkins said she’s received even more private messages from people.
Some of them seem a little sad that Greta really isn’t running for something, Jenkins told Cowboy State Daily.
“I saw a bunch of political signs out there and I got a wild hair,” she said. “I had made this a few years ago for my parents as a joke, so I pulled it out again.
“Due to the oftentimes divisive nature of our political season, I thought we could benefit from a smile.”
Jenkins would have some insight on political seasons, having once spent a seven-year stint working for former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson in Washington, D.C.
“There have been a boatload of comments, well over 300, and it’s fun to see the outpouring of humor our community has for something that tickled me," she said. "I got a kick when I created that sign.”
Aside from being a dog and not declaring a particular office she’s running for, Greta is actually deceased, Jenkins said.
If she were a real option for Park County voters, what office would Greta be most suited for?
“I wouldn’t have a clue,” Jenkins said after a bit of thought, then offering a more politically safe, “I’m not going to jump into the partisan debate there.”
If Greta Gets Write-In Votes, They’ll Be Counted
Besides being dead and a dog, there’s something else in the way of Greta’s political future, said Park County Clerk Colleen Renner.
She missed the deadline to declare her candidacy for any office.
Even so, that likely won’t stop some people from writing in Greta in some races, which wouldn’t be the most outrageous write-in Renner’s seen.
“We see all kinds of things” as write-in options, she said. “It can be anybody, or so-and-so, Donald Duck, whoever. We’re used to it.”
That Greta seems to have such widespread support is “a very nice message with what is going on in the world these days," she said.
If Greta gets some write-in votes, Renner said the Park County elections staff will count them like any other write-ins.
“When we look at write-ins, we look at all the names,” she said. “Most of the time, write-ins don’t play in conflict with anything because we just don’t get many.
“(Greta) is not a candidate, but we will count the write-ins for her.”
‘A Ham Sandwich’
If Greta were on the ballot, she’d have Bryan Mick’s vote.
The Park County resident and candidate for precinct committeeman in Wapiti said he got a kick out of the sign.
“I thought Greta would do a better job than most Freedom Caucus candidates,” he said. “We have to have some alternatives for what’s been happening over the past couple of years with all these red-herring national issues.”
While he admits that “Greta’s getting real popular,” Mick said he hopes she doesn’t get a lot of write-in votes because it would draw from actual political races.
Mick likened Greta’s support to the cliché that people would vote for a ham sandwich over some candidates.
“'A ham sandwich would do better than so-and-so,' people say,” he said. “So, Greta’s the K-9 equivalent to a ham sandwich.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
