SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (CTNH) — The results of the latest statewide election are in. We now know Cristiano Almeida will be the Connecticut’s Kid Governor for 2024.
The crowd waited anxiously for Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas to announce Oshana Elementary School’s cafetorium in the Plantsville section of Southington.
“Now, earlier this month, thousands of students from all over Connecticut, 5th graders, voted in a statewide election to determine who will be our state’s 2024 Kid Governor,” said Brian Confrancesco, the director of the Kid Governor program run by the Connecticut Democracy Center.
When the big announcement came, staff and students burst into cheers because the school’s candidate, Cristiano Almeida, won the election.
Each candidate for Kid Governor made a campaign video. Almeida outlined his plan to encourage physical fitness among his fellow 5th graders. One method is to award students who are active with Fit Coins.
In the video, he explained, “If you get a certain number of Fit Coins, your name and class picture will be added to the Fit Coin Hall of Fame. “
His platform also involves a poster contest and a YouTube channel for kids’ fitness.
“Exercise can improve your focus, concentration and memory, and can even make you happier, and who doesn’t want that?” Almeida said in his first address as Kid Governor-elect.
The inspiration for the platform comes from Almeida’s father, Danny Almeida, a physical education teacher.
“With a physical education background, fitness is in our everyday lives, and it’s something that I want to pass on to them,” Danny said. “Luckily, it caught on. It’s a platform I also believe in, and I think he’s going to have a lot of success with it.”
“So when I went with that, I thought, ‘Hmm, this is pretty good.’ I want to stick with it, and I want to go with it,” the 5th grader said.
The other six finalists for Kid Governor will form Almeida’s cabinet, and he plans to elevate their campaign platforms, as well.
“One month, work on mine, and then another month, we’ll work on someone else’s, and then another month, we’ll work on someone else’s,” Almeida said.
Almeida’s inauguration ceremony will occur in January at the Old State House.
More than 9,900 students from 340 classes and 160 schools across the state participated in this year’s statewide election.
If you have 4th graders in your life, make sure their school participates in Connecticut’s Kid Governor program next year.
