Abigail St. Valle, second from left, is sworn in as Kennebec County register of probate on Monday, with Kennebec County commissioners Patsy Crockett and Joseph Pietroski looking on. Jessica Lowell/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — With family and friends looking on, Abigail St. Valle was sworn in Monday as Kennebec County register of probate in a brief ceremony in the Kennebec County Commissioner meeting room.

“She’s going to be a great partner,” Kennebec County Probate Judge Elizabeth Mitchell said before she administered the oath, noting that as judge, she relies on the register.

Before the ceremony, St. Valle said her interest in the register of probate position stemmed from her work in political organizing, which has been based in raising up the voices of those who haven’t been heard so far.

“I see probate as helping those who don’t have a voice to speak themselves,” she said. “I see that as the connection of continuing my public service in that way.”

The Registry of Probate oversees family matters, including setting up guardianships for children and incapacitated adults, handling the estates of deceased and missing people, legal name changes and adoptions.

St. Valle, 31, said when the position opened up, several people approached her to consider seeking the appointment. Compared to the work she was doing, it seemed like the next logical step.

St. Valle was appointed to the register position by Gov. Janet Mills, following the announcement of the retirement of Kathleen Ayers, who has served as register of probate in Kennebec County for more than 25 years and for the Registry of Probate for 30 years.

Starting July 1, the salary for the position will be $64,863. St. Valle said she intends to run for the seat when it comes up for election.

Originally from Warren, St. Valle earned a degree in animal science and chemistry at the University of Maine. While science was her interest in college, her time in Orono sparked a desire to make the world more equitable. She was named Maine Wild Blueberry Queen, which got her interested in advocacy as she represented the wild blueberry industry for a year and started thinking about running for office.

St. Valle has been working in political organizing since 2018, when she served as a field director for Democrat Zak Ringelstein in his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat.

That same year, she ran for the House District 99 seat in Waldo County, where she was living at the time.

She also worked as an out-of-state organizer for the U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and as organizing director for the Betsy Sweet for Senate campaign and the Planned Parenthood Votes/360 campaign.

As a field development manager for the Maine People’s Alliance in 2021 and 2022, St. Valle recruited, hired and trained and directed performance improvement plans for field staff among other tasks.

In 2021, she was elected to an at-large seat on the Augusta City Council, running because she said there were voices that weren’t being heard.

In 2022, she served as campaign manager for her husband, Storme St. Valle, in his race against Matthew Pouliot for the Maine Senate District 15 seat.

She has also worked since March 2022  as programs manager for the Community Organizing Alliance, creating and putting in place civic engagement programs and strategies, helping programs set and reach their goals as well as fundraising, hiring and managing the internship program.