P R E S S   R E L E A S E

Secretary of State DENNIS RICHARDSON The State of Oregon

CONTACT: Debra Royal / Chief of Staff / 503-986-2361 / debra.royal@oregon.gov

DATE: November 27, 2017

Dom Peters of Gervais 

Elected Oregon’s First Kid Governor

SALEM, OR — Today, Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson announced that fifth graders from across the state elected Dom Peters of Gervais as the 2018 Oregon’s Kid Governor (ORKG). The announcement came during a school assembly at Willamette Valley Christian School where Dom is a fifth-grade student. Schoolmates cheered as Kid Governor-elect Dom, who ran on an anti-bullying platform, thanked voters and fellow students for their help and support. Watch Dom’s campaign video on Youtube and today’s announcement on Oregon’s Kid Governor Facebook page. 

This national program, which is in its first year in Oregon, was started by the Secretary of State’s office in order to teach students about elections and the importance of civic engagement and contributing to their communities. The program is open to all Oregon fifth graders. Nominations were received from public, private, home, and charter schools from across the state. Candidates were required to submit a campaign video about a community issue important to them as well as a three-point plan designed to help other students take action on the issue. Eight final candidates moved forward to the week-long general election, and their videos were posted to or.kidgovernor.org for voters to watch before casting their ballots.

“I want to thank everyone who voted for me,” said Dom in his first address to his constituents during today’s assembly. “Thank you all. And together I hope we can help stop bullying in the state of Oregon.”

“Oregon’s fifth graders have spoken and elected Dom to be their leader for 2018,” said Mary Beth Herkert, Oregon’s Archivist and Director of Oregon’s Kid Governor Program. “Dom is passionate about ending bullying, and we are excited to help him take action and raise awareness of this important issue.”

“Over 1,350 Oregon fifth graders registered to vote in this year’s statewide election for Kid Governor,” said Secretary of State Richardson. “This outstanding program is providing children with firsthand experience in civic engagement and teaching them how elections work and why it is so important to be an engaged and educated voter.”

Dom will begin his one-year term on January 9, 2018 after his inauguration ceremony at the State Capitol. As Kid Governor, Dom will work to raise awareness for the need to prevent bullying and encourage students from across Oregon to do the same. He will also encourage civics awareness among Oregon’s fifth graders.

The final eight candidates for Oregon’s Kid Governor and their community issues were as follows:

• Allison – Active Learning
• Brady – Child Abuse and Neglect
• Cameron – Emergency Preparedness
• Dom – Bullying (Governor-elect)
• Jasmine – Helping Foster Children
• Karalee – Bullying
• Mia – Access to Health Care for All Children
• Sarah – Child Abuse

To learn more about the program and to view the final candidates’ videos, go to or.kidgovernor.org. You can also follow Oregon’s Kid Governor on Facebook.

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