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In other election news, a squirrel has been elected to the UC Berkeley student Senate.
According to an article by Kent German at SFGate, the squirrel, named “Furry Boi,” is the brainchild of a 19-year-old computer science student named Ethan Hu. Between the author of the article and Mr. Hu, they used up virtually all available squirrel puns, but we’ll work with it.
The Daily Californian’s blurb about Sen.-elect Boi noted that the squirrel’s platform featured “public housing for squirrels and students, better access to acorns and support groups for those experiencing habitat loss.” Housing is at a premium there, like everything within 100 miles of the Bay Area.
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Ask John Fisher.
Presumably, Hu is the legal stand-in for Sen.-elect Boi, and he hasn’t decided whether or not to serve. Hu also added, helpfully, that he didn’t campaign in a squirrel costume. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Having been around student government politics for a lap or two at the University of Minnesota (our mascot was a Golden Gopher, a squirrel-like furry analog), I’ve seen it all. OK, I have never heard about a squirrel getting elected to anything, but based on what I saw on my local primary ballot on March 5, Mr. Boi would have been a tempting alternative.
In 1976, a friend of mine, Pete Wagner, ran for student body president at Minnesota under the “Tupperware Party” label and nearly won. Pete was also a very good political cartoonist, which was quite remarkable, and no one seemed to hold it against him. I mean, he wasn’t a squirrel, and he could draw effective, insightful cartoons about his political performance if need be.
Student government, of course, isn’t real government, but it does have some small authority on the edges, so mostly it’s taken seriously, particularly by training-wheel politicians looking to hone their skills.
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At UC Berkeley, student political activism is taken rather seriously, and, in the 1960s, Mario Savio and other student activists spawned a national Free Speech Movement. Savio might have gotten elected governor of California in a squirrel suit.
(Note to editor: Doing really well avoiding squirrel puns.)
Frankly, dressing up as a squirrel might really be a net plus. Squirrels are popular, except to certain cast members of “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.”
Being an actual squirrel would require a lot of staffing. Trust me, there are a lot of political aides and political consultants who might look at taking that job in Sacramento. Squirrels are also a good bargain for taxpayers: They don’t require a salary or CalPERS benefits, although an exhaustive audit might discover a few errant squirrel retirees who slipped through the cracks.
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Objectively, if a few dozen squirrels had tried to shut down the Golden Gate Bridge and I-880, they would have been on the losing end of that deal. But I do not promote roadkill as a political solution.
Looking like a squirrel in politics isn’t a good look. We did have a state senator a few years back who got into all sorts of trouble (oh, gun running, the usual state senator-type crimes), and his criminal accomplice was named “Shrimp Boy.”
Maybe a Furry Boi/Shrimp Boy top-two primary would be useful. I’m all in for Furry Boi vs. a convicted gun runner. Squirrels are very anti-gun.
One doesn’t want to turn this Sen.-elect Boi thing into a larger commentary about the high entertainment value politics in Berkeley, which features angry City Council resignations. Squirrels, as a class, are generally nonconfrontational, and you could probably find a few Berkeley squirrels who can work together on the City Council. Maybe. It’s Berkeley.
In Sacramento (where the state Capitol is on the way to Tahoe), you could also see a squirrel supermajority governing fairly effectively. The Republican caucus is down to nine out of the state Senate’s 40 members, so replacing them with some decent squirrels might move the ball for them.
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Honestly, you could also make a squirrel the lieutenant governor, and, with an office staff of five or so, I doubt too many Californians would notice the difference. There are now only two announced Light Guv candidates for 2026. Quick, name them. See? Could be squirrels for all you know.
So congratulations to Sen.-elect Furry Boi (D-Berkeley Student Government). Let’s hear it for the squirrel representation, too.
Someday soon, Boi will pave the way for an elected chipmunk. After that, who knows? Or Hu knows.
He’s the actual elected student government senator. Good luck, Ethan. You’re going to do just fine in politics. Better than a cartoonist.
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Jack Ohman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and columnist.
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