One of Alaska's greatest politicians has passed away.

Courtesy of KTUU: 

Sad news to report from Talkeetna, Stubbs the cat has passed away. 

According to a release from Nagley's store, the unofficial Mayor of Talkeetna, Stubbs the cat passed away in his sleep Thursday night. 

The release states Stubbs was 20-years-old. 

As Stubbs grew older his public appearances at the store became less frequent. "The last time Stubbs was in the store; he got to snuggle with the employees and relax after a good long days’ work," the release reports. 

Stubbs served as the town’s unofficial mayor since 1997.

It should be noted that Stubbs was NEVER ONCE accused of any corruption, and this is Alaska!

What's more he was accessible to ALL citizens of his town, and did not only hang out with the big donors or those who had fresh fish for him to eat.

And he was by far the best mayoral mouser in the entire state.

Take that Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz!

Yep, it's always the great ones that leave this earth too early, while the likes of Don Young and Sarah Palin continue on leaving a trail of corruption and malfeasance in their wake.

Beloved mayor of Alaska town is almost assassinated. Fortunately he still has eight lives left.

Courtesy of CNN: 

He's a beloved mayor, who's held the top office in Talkeetna, Alaska, for 16 years. So imagine the townfolks' shock when he was attacked. 

Brutally mauled. 

By a dog. 

Oh, did we mention, this mayor's a cat? 

Mayor Stubbs, a yellow tabby with more responsibility than your average cat, survived -- but is in bad shape. 

A punctured lung. A fractured sternum. A 5-inch gash on his side. 

Doctors took out a chest tube Tuesday, and he was breathing on his own for the first time since the weekend attack. 

"It's a shame," said Ashley Kearns, who works at a pizza shop in the small town about 110 miles north of Anchorage. "He's the mayor, it's not a joke. I know it's ridiculous, but the town is run really well."

Well that is just horrible and I hope Mayor Stubbs makes a full recovery. (I might suggest that his first order of business when he returns to office is to make it illegal to be a dog in Talkeetna.)

I would also like to point out how unfair it is that such an easygoing, and universally beloved mayor has been attacked in such a brutal fashion.

I mean Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla for six years and nobody tried to maul her!

The same goes for Anchorage's current mayor Dan Sullivan. He is despised by at least half of the citizens yet his sternum remains fracture free!

Now don't get me wrong I am not suggesting that anybody SHOULD do such a thing, I am simply pointing out how it always seems to be the innocent who suffer up here in Alaska while the guilty remain living high on the hog. (No offense to hogs.)