{"id":19024,"date":"2026-04-09T21:46:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=19024"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:46:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:46:45","slug":"the-new-kids-on-the-block-take-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/the-new-kids-on-the-block-take-office\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Kids on the Block Take Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Amy Voigt, City of Toledo<\/em>
\nSpecial to The Truth<\/em><\/p>\n

Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz introduced the 2026 Kid Mayor, Jamie Howard, and the new Kid City Council during a press conference on April 1, 2026. Jamie, a student at Ella P. Stewart Academy, earned the role after an interview process that highlighted her leadership, creativity and dedication to her school and community.<\/p>\n

Jamie, 10, has attended Ella P. Stewart since preschool and is known by teachers as a natural leader. She helps younger students get to their buses, serves as a teacher\u2019s helper and participates in extracurricular activities including Girl Scouts, New Concepts, Choir, Basketball and, formerly, cheerleading. She enjoys dance, puzzles, crafting beaded bracelets and outdoor activities. Jamie even created \u201cPanther Pens\u201d for a school marketing project, which were a hit with staff.<\/p>\n

As Kid Mayor, Jamie will lead the 2026 Kid Council, made up of students from Washington Local and Toledo Public Schools. Council members will represent their schools, learn about city operations, and prepare for a Mock City Council meeting in January.<\/p>\n

** This year\u2019s Kid Council includes:
\n————————————————————<\/p>\n

\"\" Washington Local
\nNiamh Bagley, Monac Elementary
\nReese Hawes, Greenwood Elementary
\nMarlee Marx, McGregor Elementary
\nLia Mendoza, Meadowvale Elementary
\nLarkin Thompson, Hiawatha Elementary
\nBrystol Wojtowicz, Shoreland Elementary<\/p>\n

Toledo Public
\nLucy Adams-Brewer, Beverly Elementary
\nEleanor Ehrick, DeVeaux Elementary
\nAlex Obu, Navarre Elementary
\nTy’Shaun Peppers, Sherman Elementary
\nMaya Ramos, Burroughs Elementary
\nAshtyn Snow, Marshall STEMM Academy
\nJamie Howard, Ella P. Stewart Academy<\/p>\n

\"\"Throughout the year, Jamie and the Kid Council will take part in hands-on activities, including meeting with city officials, presenting ideas to improve the community, and attending events such as a downtown scavenger hunt, a tour of the wood lot with the Department of Public Services, and a visit to Firehouse #6. They will also serve as role models through community projects, including joining the Litter League to help keep Toledo clean.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program continues to empower young leaders and gives them the opportunity to make a real difference in their community,\u201d Caryn Maloney, Commissioner of Civic Engagement, said. \u201cWe are excited to see Jamie and the Kid Council put their ideas into action and inspire their peers throughout the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the fifth year of the Kid Mayor program, which continues to inspire young leaders in Toledo. Previous Kid Mayors include Evelyn Bush, Gabrielle Mukiira, Lillian Joseph, and most recently Dashiell \u201cDash\u201d Harden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Amy Voigt, City of Toledo Special to The Truth Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz introduced the 2026 Kid Mayor, Jamie Howard, and the new Kid City Council during a press conference on April 1, 2026. Jamie, a student at Ella P. Stewart Academy, earned the role after an interview process that highlighted her leadership, creativity and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[342],"class_list":["post-19024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19029,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19024\/revisions\/19029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19024"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=19024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}