U.S. Senate hopeful announces youth chair
Eleanor St. Peter, 11, of Presque Isle to head ‘Kids for Charlie’
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers has announced that Eleanor St. Peter, 11, of Presque Isle, will chair his youth coalition, “Kids for Charlie.” St. Peter is a fifth-grader at Zippel Elementary School, and has known Summers most of her life.
ELEANOR ST. PETER was recently named chair of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers’ youth coalition, “Kids for Charlie.” The daughter of Joe St. Peter and Sharon Campbell, St. Peter is a fifth-grader at Zippel Elementary School. As youth chair, the 11-year-old will “encourage kids my age to persuade their parents to vote for Charlie.” The two caught up at a gathering of supporters in Presque Isle last Wednesday. 
“As a father of three, there is nothing more important to me than our youth; the next generation is the future of our country,” said Summers. “It is unconscionable to me that we are on a path to allow future generations to inherit out-of-control national debt, and a country headed in the wrong direction.
“Eleanor is a terrific person, she has a lot of energy and she’s going to bring a youthful perspective to the issues. If you think about the issues the country’s facing like the crushing debt, for example, that affects her and her generation,” he said. “I can try to do something about it as a United States Senator — and will do something about it — and my actions in the next six years after being elected will directly affect her and her children, and that’s why I think it’s so very important to not only have her interested in and following the campaign, but actually be a part of the campaign.”
St. Peter, the daughter of Joe St. Peter and Sharon Campbell, has been interested in politics for as long as she can remember, and organized a visit by Summers to her school earlier this year, at which Summers spoke to the entire fifth-grade class.
“Charlie listens, is very kind to everyone and is just a good person,” she said. “All of the issues Charlie talks about will impact me. It is important that people my age have a good future. The decisions made now will impact us later. Charlie will make a better difference for all of us in the future.”
As chair of Summers’ youth coalition, St. Peter will serve as a liaison between her peers and their parents.
“I’ll be encouraging kids my age to persuade their parents to vote for Charlie because sometimes kids listen to other kids more than they do anyone else,” she said. “I thought it was pretty cool when I was asked to be the youth chair. I think it’s something that I’ll be able to do.”
Summers said he will continue to rely on St. Peter’s insight.
“When we get elected in November, I will look to Eleanor on a regular basis,” he said. “I’ve known Eleanor’s mother for a very, very long time and have known Eleanor since she was born, so I think it’s very safe to say that Eleanor will continue to be a part of this.”
Summers met with St. Peter last Wednesday — prior to her soccer game — at a gathering of supporters at the home of Jane and Paul Towle.
Currently Maine’s 48th Secretary of State, Summers has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a Commander with the United States Navy Reserve. He previously served as a state senator, as state director for Sen. Olympia Snowe, as regional administrator of the Small Business Administration, and was a small business owner. He and his wife, Ruth, have three children and live in Scarborough.
For more information, log onto www.summersformaine.com.
