How to be Kid Governor: Riverdale fifth grader Rosie Lanenga shares platform focused on fighting climate change

Published 2:08 pm Friday, March 28, 2025

Though the Oregon senate president and a state representative appeared at a recent town hall at Riverdale Grade School, the real star of the show was one of the school’s students.

Rosie Lanenga is a Riverdale fifth grader and the 2025 Oregon Kid Governor.

On Friday, March 7, Rosie hosted her first town hall at her own school after showing Rep. Daniel Nguyen, D-Lake Oswego around. State Sen. Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, also attended the event. Rosie was selected from a group of seven fifth grade finalists and earned her place as Kid Governor after running on a climate change-focused platform.

Following her inauguration in January, Rosie traveled to Washington, D.C. for the first time, perfectly timed with her first foray into politics and government.

“It’s a family tradition. My dad went for a trip when he was in fifth grade and so he took my sister when she was in fifth grade, and then my dad took me because I’m in fifth grade now. It’s a great tradition,” she said.

Rosie said her two favorite museums in D.C. were the International Spy Museum and the Natural History Museum. The latter stood out, especially for Rosie, because of its connections to one of her passions: animals.

“I’ve always loved animals. There’s this video of me when I was a little kid, I think I was four, and I threw a tantrum because I realized dinosaurs were extinct,” said Rosie, laughing.

From this childhood passion grew a curiosity about protecting the environment.

“In third grade, there was a class where we had magazines, like popcorn reading, and there was this one section about a bunch of plastic and bottles in the ocean,” said Lanenga. “And I was like, ‘That’s not fair; those animals didn’t do anything; why is this happening?’ Over time, I’ve thought about climate change and I’ve thought, ‘This is a terrible thing that’s happening to our planet, and, if we want to survive, we need to stop it.’”

However, her path to politics came from her teacher Shar Hunter, who presented the Kid Governor program to the entire fifth grade class in the fall.

“I loved the idea of politics and being able to have a voice in the community,” Rosie said. “Everybody needs to help to keep our planet safe. So I thought about, ‘What are the little things that everyone can do to help?’”

For her platform, she developed the idea of A-C-T, a method to get involved in fighting climate change at home.

The A stands for “Act in your Home” through composting, recycling or other individual sustainable actions, the C stands for “class meetings,” which bring together a community to discuss climate change, and the T stands for “take the time to share your knowledge.”

“It’s a cycle that goes round and round,” said Rosie in her campaign announcement video.

For Rosie, getting involved has meant testifying in support of House Bill 318, which would expand food waste disposal and composting in Oregon, or just talking about the natural wonders of her home state.

“Me and my dad usually go camping over the summer and this year we went to the Oregon coast and it was just so beautiful,” said Rosie. “Honestly, I don’t think I’m going to be like a scientist or anything like that to work on climate change. I just want to make sure I do the best I can to make Oregon the best place it can be.”

As Wagner left Riverdale after the town hall, he said, “How about Kid Governor Rosie? She’s great!”

“I’ve always loved animals. There’s this video of me when I was a little kid, I think I was four, and I threw a tantrum because I realized dinosaurs were extinct.”

Rosie Lanenga