Hannah Pingree
hannah@pingree.com

Representative Pingree (D - North Haven), 30, is serving in her third term in the Maine House of Representatives, and was recently elected House Majority Leader.

FUN FACTS

Favorite Band:  The Toughcats
Favorite Place in Maine:  My hometown, the island of North Haven
If I had 24 hours to live...I'd hang out with my family and walk my dog

 

You've become the youngest woman in Maine history to hold the position of House Majority Leader. What does it feel like?
It's really exciting. My whole identity in politics has not just been about being young, but it is important to have young people and women involved in politics. It's an honor to have my colleagues elect me and trust me to be their leader.

Where did you grow up and where did you go to school?
I grew up on an island off the coast of Maine called North Haven, which is where I still live today. North Haven is a town of 350 year-round residents. I graduated in a class of five from North Haven Community School. By the time you're a senior in a town that small, you're ready to leave the island, or as we say, "The Rock." I didn't purposefully want to leave Maine - I applied to ten colleges both in and out of state. Brown (University in Rhode Island) was my top choice.  I got in, and it's a great school so I decided to go.

What did you do after college and how did you decide to return to Maine?
When I graduated from college I applied for a fellowship - the Coro fellowship for leadership in public affairs in New York City. I did that for a year. Then I worked for two years for iVillage.com, which was the largest internet site for women at the time, where I produced their election 2000 coverage.  We hosted some of the first online political chats with the major presidential candidates that year about issues important to women.

After living in New York for three years, I missed Maine and knew that I wanted to return. Then I got a call from my mother (Chellie Pingree), who had decided to run for U.S. Senate. She asked me if I would come home and work on her campaign. So of course, I did. I moved home to the island in 2001, and I worked as a fundraiser for her U.S. Senate race.

How did you decide to run for elective office yourself? Did you imagine that you would have been able to achieve this level of success this early in your career?
In early 2002 I was recruited to run for the Maine House of Representatives by then-Speaker of the House, Mike Saxl. I agreed. When I moved home I did not foresee myself running for elective office. But it has been one of the most important experiences of my life.

I certainly did not plan it this way. Growing up with a mom in politics definitely made me realize that politics and leadership was something that I was capable of. Maine is a small state. I'm a person who wants to make Maine better and work hard for the communities I represent, and it's ended up working out well. But I certainly did not sit down and plan my career.

What are some of the issues facing people between the ages of 20-40 in this legislative session?
One specific bill is for REALIZE!Maine - a bill to match Bangor Savings Bank's funding to support regional REALIZE!Maine efforts. Generally, the major issues of this session are going to be creating jobs, making sure higher education is affordable, promoting affordable housing, and the issue of affordable health care. These are all issues that are huge for our generation. Making progress on these issues will help us retain and encourage young people to come to Maine.

I feel like I grew up with a lot of young people who now live out of state. Figuring out how to bring back their brainpower and entrepreneurial spirit is something that's very important to me. The good news is that many of them are starting to come back.

What does it take as a young person in Maine to succeed in politics?
I think the most important thing to understand is that young people are absolutely needed in the political process in Maine, and there are few barriers if they are willing to put themselves out there and work hard. I think Mainers want young people involved in local and state political processes. I represent a district of ten towns, nine of which are islands. When I would knock on doors campaigning, while people do think I look young, their reaction is mostly excitement to see young and energized people participating in the process.
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