Unofficial mayor: Two declare candidacy, seven now in the running

Two more islanders have entered the race for Vashon’s unofficial mayor, bringing the total number of candidates to seven.

Rain the Therapy Pony and quilter Jessika Satori have declared their intentions to run and are now collecting votes in the form of donations to their respective organizations.

Rain the Therapy Pony declared her candidacy last week and is running to benefit Neighborcare after she was discovered at the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie. She is being trained to be a therapy pony by islander Julia Montagnet and frequents the island gathering spot. Someone recently snapped a photo of her and put it on a community Facebook page, rocketing her to stardom.

“Someone saw her photo and told me, ‘She’s famous.’ So it was then that I just said I should run her for unofficial mayor,” Montagnet said. “It was stressful for those few months when we didn’t have a clinic, and I don’t want to go through that again.”

Montagnet said Rain is a perfect candidate for mayor because she is a quick learner and loves everyone.

“She’s not on Facebook and isn’t part of any of the community pages so she hasn’t been in the island drama like all of the other humans on this island,” she said. “She thinks she can be a good mayor.”

Rain is also already rubbing hooves with many in the community by visiting not only the Roasterie, but other high-traffic places around town. Montagnet said she has been out walking the town four times in her month of training. Her only weakness is her own reflection.

“She’s very gentle. She doesn’t spook, but when she sees her own reflection she lets out this loud scream. We’re working on that,” Montagnet said.

Rain is planning on making appearances at the food bank’s Picnics at the Park program this summer, as well as at Vashon Community Care and local preschools. Her donation jars will be in town this week. Each dollar donation to Neighborcare equals one vote for Rain. Donations can also be made directly to Neighborcare Health online at donate.neighborcare.org

Meanwhile, Satori is running on behalf of American Hero Quilts, an organization founded by islander Sue Nebeker that, since 2004, has sent more than 26,000 quilts to medical centers and military installations worldwide. Quilts are handmade by volunteers from throughout the world and are distributed to areas according to the most need.

Satori said she became involved with American Hero Quilts first as a donor, and then was asked to participate in quilting for a weekend. She became hooked on the organization.

In her campaign statement, she asked voters to “look at the letters from people who have appreciated the quilts they’d received”:

“‘We are astounded by your generosity. Thank you again for the ‘hugs’ you give every day to complete strangers,’” reads one quote from a quilt recipient.

There are multiple ways to support Satori’s campaign:

1. Donate cash or checks in marked containers around town.

2. Make a donation by mail to 6716 SW Maury Park Rd. Vashon, WA 98070. Make the check out to American Hero Quilts and put Unofficial Mayor in the memo line.

3. Donate via the American Hero Quilts website at americanheroquilts.com. Select the donate button, then select “add special instructions to the seller.”

4. Keep updated on Facebook by following Jessika for Unofficial Mayor-American Hero Quilts.

Donations for all unofficial mayoral candidates will be accepted until the winner is announced at the Strawberry Festival on Saturday, July 22.

Run for unofficial mayor

Those interested in joining the race for Vashon’s unofficial mayor have until Thursday, June 1, to declare.

Candidates must select an island nonprofit to fundraise for, submit a letter from the organization giving permission to fundraise and declare their run to the chamber and newspapers. Visit vashonchamber.com for more information.