Gubernatorial candidate goes to the dogs.

Just in time for April Fool's Day, we have proof that Massachusetts' once-vibrant political culture hasn't completely lost its traditional sense of mirth. Mercurial millionaire and Republican-turned-Independent gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos has chosen family pet Reagan Mihos, a Yorkshire Terrier (pictured at right), as his campaign's Canine Coordinator. As far as I know, this move is without precedent in Bay State politics, but then again Mihos has a well-deserved reputation as a political maverick. A longtime GOP activist, Mihos was fired from an appointed slot on the Mass Pike board in 2001 by then-Acting Gov. Jane Swift for failing to toe the party line and then successfully sued to get his job back. Mihos decision to enter this year's race for the Corner Office as an Independent ruffled even more Republican feathers, with GOP leaders fearing the self-financing candidate with a flair for publicity as a potential spoiler. Time will tell whether Mihos' efforts to reach out to dog-lovers will boost his poll numbers, which media reports currently place in the 15-20% range. It will be interesting, too, to see how close Mihos gets to reaching his stated goal of signing up "351 good dogs [i.e., one from every town and city in the Commonwealth] to represent their pals in the best state in the U.S. - Massachusetts." The Koczera family pet, a Yorkie named Kiwi, had no comment at posting time on whether she would foresake her traditional Democratic allegiance to back Mihos. AMDG.