Cassandra Levesque, 19, does not believe her age should determine whether or not her political beliefs are taken seriously. When she was 17, Cassandra notably turned her Girl Scouts project into a bill that aimed to close the legal loophole that allows girls to get married, with parental and judicial consent, as young as 13 and boys, 14, in New Hampshire. The bill was subsequently defeated, but Cassandra was not. Two years later, she ran for state legislature in the November 6 midterm elections and won.
“As a kid I definitely didn’t think that I would go into politics,” she says. “I always thought that I would do art and focus on that.”
Cassandra had just enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University to pursue her interest in photography when Democratic Representative Ellen Read suggested she run in the District 4 House race. “I’ve gotten a lot of people who are older than me who have said, ‘When I was 19 I was definitely not thinking about running for political office,’” Cassandra says, admitting it took a bit of convincing for her to be open to the idea too. Initially, she wanted to focus on school, but Read was persistent, and, as the deadline drew near, Cassandra decided that if she ran for state legislature, it would be a great learning experience, regardless of the outcome.
Cassandra’s introduction to the world of politics as a high school student who turned a “small project” into a bill gave her a little insight into both the highs and lows that could come with running for state legislature. As a Girl Scout, she won a Gold Award for a project on child marriage, after learning about the loopholes that allow children as young as 13 to get married in New Hampshire. Working with her state representative, Jacalyn Cilley (D-NH), Cassandra worked to draft a bill that would end child marriage. That draft, eventually known as House Bill 499, was defeated, but a comment made by a state legislator in the process gained attention and sparked a dialogue about the then-17-year-old’s efforts.
Media, including shows such as Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, focused on a comment made by Representative David Bates (R-NH). Bates said, “We’re asking the legislature to repeal a law that’s been on the books for over a century, that’s been working without difficulty, on the basis of a request from a minor doing a Girl Scout project.”
Cassandra says comments such as the one made by Bates are part of what convinced her to eventually push her hesitations aside and run for an open seat in the State House of Representatives in Barrington. “The average age for the legislature in New Hampshire is 66,” Cassandra said. “It’s very important to get that younger generation’s voice into the legislature.” As of 2015, New Hampshire is the oldest state legislature in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The New York Times notes one reason for this might be that the state legislature “is essentially a volunteer job, with the legislators being paid only $100 per year plus mileage.”
In order to successfully juggle college and her newfound responsibilities representing the people of Barrington, Cassandra plans to take classes online through Southern New Hampshire University. The teen says she’s still passionate about photography, but she's now majoring in political science, with the hope that her new major, along with the help of her mentors (and now peers) within the state legislature, will help her transition into her new job.
Cassandra says she’s proud to be a part of the group of young people who ran for political office for the first time this year, as well as the diverse group of women who were elected in record-breaking numbers during the 2018 midterms.
“So many women are discouraged from [running for office] because over the years it’s always been particularly white males who have been [involved in] the political world,” she says. “I think that now it’s becoming very diverse. There are so many women stepping up, [including] women of color and women who are young. I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
Unsurprisingly, one of Cassandra’s biggest goals moving forward is to pass a bill ending child marriage in New Hampshire. “I just filed a legislative service request to raise the marriage age to 18 and I’m still in the process of finding cosponsors,” she says.
She’s aged out of being a Girl Scout, but the passion for helping others that was ignited when she was in the organization and the award-winning project she began as a member have propelled her into something bigger than she ever could’ve imagined.
“I want to make sure that every person in my town gets their voice heard,” Cassandra says.
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