Hooterville has a long standing record of being the first community to have their political votes submitted to the state. Pip Winslow from Crabwell Corners is taking bets that they will beat Hooterville this year, because they have a new automatic voting machine. Hooterville may lose regardless because of a disagreement between Kate and Selma Plout. Selma threatens to cast her ballot late in the day just to spite Kate. A letter from the Governor comes addressed to the Hooterville Chamber of Commerce, which doesn't exist. So they can open the letter, Joe, Charley and Floyd create the Chamber. The Governor hopes they can extend their 20 year record. Kate believes she has a way for Selma to change her mind. Despite a couple of set-backs, Hooterville gets their votes in first.

Kate doesn't have anything against Dan, Billie Jo's boyfriend, that is except his mother is Selma Plout, her arch-enemy. Kate and Selma are once again arguing at the Every Other Wednesday Afternoon Discussion Club. Kate doesn't even mind talk of Billie Jo and Dan perhaps getting married. Uncle Joe tells Kate there's a real possibility that the two are going to get married and she might want to think about becoming friends with Selma. Kate makes an attempt to be nice to Selma, but that doesn't work out too well. Rumors are flying and it's starting to look as though Billie Jo and Dan are going to elope. Sam makes a call to Pixley and finds out that Dan got married. Kate and Selma start crying in each others arms. Turns out Dan married Emily Lawrence and Billie Jo was just helping

Billie Jo wins a contest at secretarial school and is offered her first job. She will be private secretary to author Oliver Fenton. World traveling Fenton is coming to Hooterville because his next book is based in a small town. He has rented one of the houses in town. Selma tells Kate that Fenton writes "those kind of books". After reading one of Fenton's books, Kate tells Billie Jo that she can't work for him. Uncle Joe tells Kate she has to trust Billie Jo. When Billie Jo meets Fenton, she finds him to be a graying old man. She now knows that her mother's worries are ill-founded. After Kate sends some spies to check on her, Billie Jo decides to have a little fun and test just how much her mother does truly trust her. Kate goes to confront Fenton and realizes Billie Jo was playing games with her.

The Governor announces that he will make a grassroots tour of the state. Uncle Joe is excited by the news, but no one else seems to care. The Governor has not announced his itinerary, but he is welcoming invitations from interested communities. Joe hopes to be able to advertise that the Governor slept at the Shady Rest. Joe says he sent an invitation and believes that the Governor is coming to Hooterville. Joe has a hard time organizing a welcoming as everyone is still not that excited. When the Cannonball arrives, there is no Governor. Turns out Joe forgot to mail the invite

Because they don't have one, Uncle Joe wants to be named the Mayor of Hooterville. And as mayor, he would get an all expenses paid trip to the state capitol for the state's mayors' convention, and a free haircut. Sam, Charley and Floyd think that having a mayor isn't such a bad idea, but the person should be elected. They and the girls convince Kate to run, even though she really doesn't want to. When Joe learns Kate is running, he decides to move out of the Hotel. Selma Plout will do anything she can to make sure Kate doesn't win. She even becomes Joe's campaign manager. Selma also has another reason to help Joe, she would like to be the mayor's wife. Kate comes up with a plan to get both her and Joe off the hook.

Fed up with chopping wood for Kate's old wood-burner, Uncle Joe tries to convince Kate to buy a new electric stove. Joe tells Kate that people have stopped coming to the hotel because the old stove is ruining her cooking. Joe writes to New York food critic Lucius J. Penrose and asks him to come to the hotel to taste Kate's cooking. With a new oven and Penrose's stamp of approval, the hotel could be famous. Joe sabotages the old stove and then tells Kate he has already ordered the new one. The new stove shows up, but it has to be put together. Penrose arrives and is not impressed with the new oven. He says that the only reason he agreed to come was to get a meal cooked on an old fashioned wood burning stove. Kate winds up cooking the meal in the Cannonball's wood burner.