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Candidate for House, Maine , District #1
Contact Information
PingreeP.O. Box 17613
Portland, Maine 04112
207.773.0155
campaign@pingreeforcongress.com
http://www.chelliepingree.com
Bio
North Haven has been my home for more than 30 years. I've raised my three children--Hannah, Cecily, and Asa--here. I've worked at many jobs and started several businesses here, including running a small farm. I created jobs for local people when I owned and managed North Island Yarns and North Island Designs. My current business is Nebo Lodge, an inn and restaurant in North Haven, which I own and run with several businesses partners.
I have been actively engaged in three decades of work for change. This has ranged from serving the 350 year-round residents of my island home on the North Haven school board to leading more than 300,000 members and supporters across the nation as the president and CEO of Common Cause. Though the size of my constituency has changed over the years, my commitment and my values have remained firm: Work hard, speak the truth, find common sense solutions to complex problems--and work for justice every day.My work in the Maine state senate
In 1992, I was elected to the Maine State Senate, representing Knox County. I loved my work in the state senate, and served for eight years (the maximum allowed under term limits), the last four years as senate majority leader. I am proud of my wonderful daughter Hannah who was elected to the state legislature in 2002--as a "Clean Elections" candidate. Today she serves as the majority leader of the House and is great at her job!
In the legislature, I stood firm for social and economic justice, and never backed down from taking on powerful adversaries--most notably the pharmaceutical lobby. In my last term, I sponsored one of the nation's first prescription drug pricing bills, "Maine Rx." I also sponsored the successful "Parents as Scholars" program, a national model for welfare reform, and I led efforts to protect Maine's environment. We were leaders in corporate accountability and protecting workers. I stood up and fought for equal pay and protecting a woman's right to choose. Always mindful of Maine's need for economic development, I was chair of the Economic Growth Council and was proud of the work we did during the years I was there.
Family
My mother grew up on the family farm in Minnesota. Years later, when I was a full time farmer, my mom would spend a month with us each year, teaching me all she knew. In a Norwegian/American family, hard work is a given, and my mother never stopped.
I was the youngest child, and my mom went back to work while I was at home. She was a nurse and, even though she worked long hours, she still cooked everything from scratch. Dad was hardworking, smart, and loved numbers, from the thousands of figures he pored over during the day, to his winning gin rummy scores at night.
My dad was a lifelong Republican. As a teenager, I was a staunch opponent of the war in Vietnam, and my dad was not at all fond of my war-protesting, anti-authoritarian ways. However, as the years passed, my father would come to visit us in Maine, helping me with the bookkeeping at my various small businesses and playing with his grandkids.
When I ran for the State Senate in 1992, the year before he died, he and my mom wrote me a check for $50. I was touched to see his barely legible signature--the only contribution he ever gave to a Democrat. You can see him and the rest of my family in the photo above. They had traveled to Maine to help on my first campaign.