Sooty, the Mayor of Ahuriri, gazes upon his loyal subjects on Ahuriri Beach.
A black and white cat has worked his way up from the mean streets of a Napier suburb to become its honorary mayor and mascot. Jack Riddell follows the rise and rise of the tabby they call Sooty, the mayor of Ahuriri.
Sooty started life in much the same way as Napier mayor Kirsten Wise - he was small and he didn’t want rodents to survive.
He worked in pest control, feasting on the rats and mice living in Ahuriri’s former wool stores decorating the suburb’s industrial area.
Eventually, Sooty would find himself a human companion in the owner of a motel along the beach, where the suburb’s love affair with him first began.
He would stroll from house to house and business to business soliciting the occasional pat and nibble of food as he drew delight from onlookers with his sassy attitude and devilish good looks.
Sadly, Sooty’s first human companion passed away, leaving Sooty to roam the neighbourhood in search of food and shelter.
He would wander into businesses and make himself comfortable by sneaking up behind workers at local cafes as they were opening up and proceed to give them the fright of their lives as he announced his arrival with a loud meow.
This is where current owners and handlers Joan and Kevin Orlowski first came into contact with the fuzzy politician.
“Everyone was just feeding him, but none of the shopkeepers lived here and they couldn’t offer him a home, and come 5 o’clock, if he was in their shop, they’d have to put him out,” Joan said.
“We knew that he didn’t have a proper home, so a lady from down the art gallery came to see me, and she said ‘you’re offering your home?’, and I said ‘yes’.”
“He wanders around the whole district and, if there’s a door open, he’ll wander in. Make himself at home. Luckily everybody knows him.”
Animal mayors are nothing new. In 1922 a billy goat named “Ioio” was elected a city councillor of Fortaleza, Brazil. In 2012, the town of Idyllwild, California elected a Golden Retriever named Max as “mayor for life”. In 2018 Omena, Michigan elected a cat named Sweet Tart as mayor.
But what separates Sooty from these other miscellaneous mayors of history, is that Sooty was never elected into office. He won the titles by winning the hearts and minds of locals and visitors to the beachside community with his boyish charm, fiery temperament, and fuzzy coat.
Like many politicians, Sooty has had to deal with the occasional kidnapping attempt.
A family from down the road had invited Sooty in and closed the door behind him. Luckily he was registered to Joan and Kevin and their daughter swiftly wandered down and retrieved the mayor.
“I think because he’s famous people think, oh, he’s Sooty, we’ll have him.”
Fortunately for Sooty, he is not afraid to take a well-aimed swipe at anyone trying to pick him up, foiling would-be bandits.
But Joan knows what would really scare any abductors.
“I’ll tell you how much the vet bills are. That’ll scare everybody off for a while.
“He does cost me a lot at the vet because he’s 15 years old and he’s got to go once a month for an injection and it does do him the world of good too. It just gets that movement back and things. Without it, he gets quite miserable.
“Apart from that, there’s always other things wrong with him.”
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise confirmed with Hawke’s Bay Today that she and Sooty have an excellent relationship, based on mutual respect, and a shared dislike of tuna.
“While Sooty’s powers are not vested through legislation, he has clawed together considerable influence,” Wise said.
“With council’s approval, Sooty’s main responsibility is rodent control in the area. Without his help, the pest population in Ahuriri could be cat-astrophic.”
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.