Celebrity Mayors?

It’s hard to believe that Bo-Jo has only a short while to go before he finishes his first year in office. 2010 will see the half-way point in his four-year team, and after the General Election everyone’s focus will move back to London in preparation for the next Mayoral elections in 2012.

So who might Boris face? Everyone assumes that Red Ken will have developed his ‘progressive coalition’ to the point where he’s back in contention for the top job, and perhaps the Liberal Democrats might consider a deal with him following the dip in their vote share last time.

But perhaps it’s the right moment to look across the Atlantic to the US for an alternative approach. In California, Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger took over as Governor in 2003 and has been considered a big success, storming the following election without stopping to draw breath. Another former not-terribly-good actor, Ronald Reagan, was also California Governor and later manage to nab the top job in the White House.

Now, other US states are beginning to look at celebrity governors – Val Kilmer is apparently being fingered as a potential inhabitant for the New Mexico Governor’s mansion, bringing his experience in, er, Top Gun and Batman to the role.

So what are the our own ‘sleb options for London? Prospective residents of City Hall drawn from our popular cultural elite don’t seem quite as heavyweight as the Governator. How about:

Michael Caine (London’s favourite Londoner, afterall)

Helen Mirren (just because we love her)

Guy Ritchie (cockney-ish; now has more time on his hands)

Amy Winehouse (can you *imagine* how messy Mayor’s Question Time would be)

Jade, the UK’s Eurovision entry from Newham (only if she wins, of course)

Elton John (would host some fabulous parties at City Hall)

Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend (well, why not – could be a great endorsement)

Image from Jeremy Toeman’s Flickrstream under the Creative Commons license