4-year-old mayor re-elected in northern Minnesota

DORSET, Minn. (KABC) -- A 4-year-old boy continues his history-making political career after winning a second term as mayor of a small tourist town in northern Minnesota.

Mayor Bobby Tufts' name was picked Sunday during the town's annual Taste of Dorset festival to be mayor of Dorset for a second term. The town has no formal city government and has a population of 22 to 28, depending on whether the town minister and his family members are in town.

The election is unique. People pay $1 to vote, but the winner is selected by a random drawing. The proceeds go toward organizing the festival.

Bobby was only 3 when he won election last year. His mother, Emma Tufts, said she and her son, who turns 5 in October, got choked up when his name was pulled for re-election.

A random person was chosen to pick a name out of a clear tub. Bobby's mother pointed out that person was blindfolded twice.

The office carries no official duties for running the city, but the mayor's mother says her son's agenda includes raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo, N.D., and a new welcome sign for Dorset, which bills itself as the Restaurant Capital of the World.

They already raised $750 from a walk this summer and planned to donate half the proceeds of Sunday's T-shirt sales to the charity. He wants to do a snowshoe scavenger hunt this winter to raise money, she said.

Bobby starts preschool in the fall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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