This article was originally published by Jackie Mundry in WMTW.
PORTLAND, Maine — Democratic candidate for governor Hannah Pingree was the youngest woman in United States history to be elected state House speaker at 26 years old. Now, she wants to be the youngest female governor of Maine.
Pingree, the mom of two teenagers, says being the state’s chief executive is all about multitasking.
“You have to figure out, like, how do you prioritize? How do you get things done? And I think that’s a great skill. I mean, the governor has to balance a lot of things,” Pingree said.
Pingree was born in Belfast and raised on the island of North Haven.
“It was really safe. I had a great community. I got to see my parents be really involved,” she said of her upbringing.
She attended Brown University and spent time in New York City before returning to Maine, running for the state Legislature and being elected speaker in her first term.
“I was elected unanimously by Republicans and Democrats and Independents,” Pingree said.
In her eight years in the Legislature, she said she is proud to have been able to work across the aisle with Republicans and pass bipartisan legislation. She said she wants to bring that back to Augusta.
“People want somebody who will stand up to Donald Trump, but they also want somebody who will get things done,” Pingree said. “And I think so many of the things that people want us to get done are bipartisan.”
Pingree’s mom, Democratic Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, is serving her ninth term in Washington. The younger Pingree said she is proud of the work her mom has done over the last almost two decades, but she has paved her own path.
“I’ve learned a lot from her, but we’re not exactly the same. You know, the year I was elected speaker of the House is the, actually the year she was elected to Congress. So, you know, we’ve, we’ve both done these things on our own,” Pingree said.
She also spent six years in the Mills administration, working as the director of the office of the future on issues like housing and the environment, and was on the front lines of the winter storms that destroyed parts of Maine’s coast about two and a half years ago.
“We passed the biggest storm recovery bill in Maine’s history,” Pingree said, referring to legislation that followed those storms.
Pingree said if elected, she is focused on making lives easier for her neighbors.
“I think people are really struggling to pay their bills. And if you don’t have access to housing that you can afford, it’s really hard for your economy to move forward,” she said.
She wants to invest $100 million a year in housing, accelerate permit approvals to build housing, reduce evictions and address rising homelessness.
She is also proposing a public health insurance option.
“It would be a new state plan that will help negotiate for lower costs. People who have their own health plans are happy with this. Will not interrupt those, but it will be another option,” Pingree said.
Not surprisingly, she is critical of President Donald Trump, saying it will be up to governors across the country to focus on environmental issues.
“I have been leading on this issue, and frankly, I think continuing to invest in common sense solutions at a time in which Donald Trump has said climate is not real,” Pingree said.
On immigration, she said she agrees with Gov. Janet Mills and the Legislature’s decision to limit local law enforcement’s work with federal immigration agencies.
“I do not think collaborating with the federal government and this ICE makes any sense,” she added.
Pingree faces four other candidates in the Democratic primary but says Mainers should choose her.
“I love making a difference, and I love Maine, and that’s why I’m running. I’ve got two kids. They are 13 and 15. I want Maine to be a state that, you know, will be where they want to raise their families,” she said.
The primary is on June 9.
