P R E S S   R E L E A S E

Secretary of State BEV CLARNO The State of Oregon

Contact: Mary Beth Herkert | 503-378-5196 | mary.e.herkert@oregon.gov

DATE: December 16, 2019

Third Annual Inauguration Ceremony of Oregon’s Kid Governor
January 8, 2020 at 10 a.m.
Senate Chamber of the Oregon State Capitol

SALEM, OR — Raaga Mandala, a fifth grader at Jacob Wismer Elementary in Beaverton, will be sworn in as Oregon’s 3rd Kid Governor on January 8, 2020 at 10 a.m. in the Senate Chamber of the Oregon State Capitol. Raaga was elected by fifth graders from across the state and will focus on her platform of transitioning the homeless to permanent housing during her one year term. Her three point plan of “Learn, Love, Legislate” includes learning about the homeless in classrooms; loving the homeless by starting kindness clubs in schools that will collect food and clothing and then give them to homeless shelters; and legislating, where fifth graders will write letters to their legislators to encourage them to find a solution for homelessness.

You can watch her campaign video here:  https://youtu.be/C4YJGglPGSQ

The other six finalists will also be recognized at the ceremony. Their names, schools and platforms are:

Abigail Akins, Prairie Mountain School – Decrease Illiteracy in grades K-5
Akshara Ashok, Scholls Heights Elementary – Plastic Bag Pollution
Aurora Cunningham-Mooney, Territorial Elementary – Save Marine Life from Pollution
Bella Malekzadeh, Pleasant Hill Elementary – Promoting Kindness in Schools
Ben Kao, Forest Ridge Elementary – Helping Kids with Disabilities
Carl Myers, Willamette Valley Christian School – Lack of Kindness

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Raaga will be available in the Captiol Press Room to the media. For more information, please contact Mary Beth Herkert at mary.e.herkert@oregon.gov or at 503-999-3239 (cell) and 503-378-5196 (work).