SOMERVILLE — Around these parts — specifically, the Somerville Community Path — one feline reigns supreme.
That’s Berry, the 3-year-old domestic shorthair that can often be seen sunning herself in the grass, navigating the nearby art installations, or traipsing across the paved bike and pedestrian path.
“I’ve seen the cat get stuck on a roof, stand down German shepherds, cross in front of bikes,” said Sarah Bryce, a longtime Somerville resident. “So it pretty much acts like it runs the bike path.”
Which, per local legend, Berry does.
“Mayor Berry,” they call her, and she is recognized as such by neighbors and on various Somerville-focused social media pages.
But maybe not for long.
For the past several weeks, amid an actual campaign for Somerville‘s human mayor, cat challengers to the cat incumbent have emerged as well, each touting their campaigns via lawn signs on the path, complete with photos of neighborhood pets and various slogans.
Among the growing collection of lawn signs near where the path meets Davis Square, there is Puzzles, a black-and-white kitten whose pitch reads “Vote for me because naps.”
And there is Freya, an all-black cat that appears to have only one eye, and, per the sign, is running as a member of the “Com-meow-nist Party.”
For the first time since Mayor Berry took her imaginary office by fiat, the race for “Bike Path Mayor” is on.
Berry, the presumed front-runner, is arguably the best known of the bunch, due to the long stretches of time she spends outside mingling with the public.
According to her owner and “campaign manager” Mallory Bissett, Berry roams the bike path endlessly, sometimes not coming home for days at a time.
She refuses to wear a collar, which has led to confusion among those who see her on the busy path, worry she’s a house cat who’s strayed from home, and rush to social media to report her as missing.
Some have gone even further. Once, Bissett had to go claim Berry from a vet’s office, after the cat had been brought there by a passerby. Another time, she had to reclaim her from Animal Control — in Cambridge. People on the bike path, well intentioned as they might be, would simply not leave Berry alone.
So concocting an imaginary political career was, in part, born of necessity.
“Basically we decided to elevate her persona, because we wanted people to recognize that she belongs there,” Bissett said. “Now people just say, ‘Oh yeah. That’s the mayor.’”
But not everyone accepted that this cat, who is just one of the many higher-profile pets in the neighborhood, should be in charge.
“Mallory determined her cat was the Bike Path Mayor. Just announced it one day,” said Janet McNamara, a friend and neighbor, with a scoff. “I don’t think it’s fair.”
McNamara, a stand-up comedian, also lives near the bike path and owns an outdoor cat. He’s an orange cat named Orange Cat, who has been known to greet visitors who pass through Grove Street and is, McNamara said, “just as important as Berry.”
So they decided to let the public decide. To publicize their candidacies, Bissett printed out a pair of campaign signs using the site Canva, and planted them beside the bike path.
The one for Orange Cat says simply “Vote Orange Cat,” and discloses that the ad is “paid for by the catalyst party.”
Berry’s is a bit more provocative: “Re-elect Mayor Berry,” it reads. “Make Cats Outside Again.”
Soon, and without prompting, new weatherproof signs emerged on the grass next to theirs. Some they recognized as other outdoor cats from the neighborhood. Others they don’t recognize at all.
One cat named Minerva, whose sinister-looking sign reads, simply, “CRIME,” has added intrigue to the race.
Another sign emerged for a candidate named “Pirate.” “More kibble for all,” it reads, adding, “Especially Pirate.”
There are even two French bulldogs in the race, running on a combined ticket, named Duke and Ella. The slogan on their sign: “You got anyone betta??”
“We’re not happy about it,” said McNamara, about the intrusion of canines into the cat election.
But that’s democracy for you. Sometimes, you get a dog.
As far as Somerville’s pet candidates go, most agree Berry is the one to beat.
She has even gotten an endorsement from Somerville’s human mayor, Katjana Ballantyne, who herself is up for reelection this year.
“Berry is an experienced, proven leader,” Ballantyne said in an email, adding, “I also admire her approach to rat control.”
Spencer Buell can be reached at spencer.buell@globe.com. Follow him @SpencerBuell.