Harrisville fifth-grader Jade Adams becomes NH's 8th Kid Governor
"Since I've only been at this for two weeks, we can learn this job together," Ayotte said at the ceremony in historic Representatives Hall Tuesday at the State House.
New Hampshire Civics and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College co-sponsor the program, which attracted a record number of candidates and votes in the election last fall, according to Allyson Ryder, executive director of N.H. Civics.
Adams, a student at Wells Memorial School, won over about 20 other competitors with her campaign video that laid out her platform for outlawing animal testing.
"More than 100 million animals have been burned, crippled, poisoned and abused in U.S. labs every year," Adams said in prepared remarks. "These poor animals are forced to live in horrible living spaces."
She vowed to work on legislation for New Hampshire to become the 13th state to ban the practice.
"We need to find alternatives to test products for research and learning because hurting these animals is not the right way to do it," Adams wrote.
The new kid chief executive thanked her parents, Katey and Bruce, her sisters, Avery and Sage and, of course, her pets.
Ayotte said Adams will carry on the fine work of her predecessor as Kid Governor, Ellie Lively, who in 2024 made working against animal cruelty the hallmark of her term.
"It's great that both of you were working in common," Ayotte said.
This program shows students that running for office isn't an individual endeavor, Gov. Ayotte said.
"Everyone's voice matters. ... You had your teachers help you, you had your classmates step up and help you," Ayotte said. "None of us do this alone. When you run for governor, there are so many people who help you do that."
Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald also swore in six elected as Kid Executive Councilors who will advise the Kid Governor.
Others on hand for the event were House Speaker Sherman Packard and Senate President Sharon Carson, both R-Londonderry, Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, and Secretary of State David Scanlan.
This program started in 2018 as an affiliate with a national Kid Governor program created by the Connecticut Democracy Center.
klandrigan@unionleader.com
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