In Japan, a robot was nominated to run for mayor pledging that “artificial intelligence will change the city” according to japanese news website Qtaquest, in an attempt to make things fair for everyone the robot would analyse petitions put forward to the council and break down the pros and cons of them and statistically dictating the effect that they would have. Michihito Matsuda also says that it is capable of taking in the dialogue and the wishes of residents before calculating best course of action the AI candidate also claims rational compromise when there’s conflict between residents.
While this AI is the one that could be the first artificial intelligence mayor, the campaign is actually controlled by Tetsuzo Matsuda and Norio Murakami. Matsuda says  “Tama New Town was the most advanced city in Japan 40 years ago. As it stands, the ageing population will only continue to grow, prompting a need for change in the current administration.”
This is not the first time a bizarre candidate stood for office. In 1938, a brown mule ran for a republican precinct seat in Milton, Washington and a cat named Stubbs was elected mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska in 1997 and an attempt to run for office was made by a potted ficus tree.