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Chellie Pingree
Chellie Pingree (/ˈʃɛli ˈpɪŋɡriː/ SHELL-ee PING-gree; born Rochelle Marie Johnson; April 2, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009. Her district includes most of the southern part of the state, centered around the Portland area.
A member of the Democratic Party, Pingree was a member of the Maine Senate from 1992 to 2000, serving as majority leader for her last four years. She ran for the United States Senate in 2002, losing to incumbent Republican Susan Collins. From 2003 until 2006, she was president and CEO of Common Cause. She is the first Democratic woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.
Pingree was born Rochelle Marie Johnson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Harry and Dorothy Johnson. She moved to Maine as a teenager and had her first name legally changed to Chellie. She attended the University of Southern Maine and graduated from College of the Atlantic with a degree in human ecology. Since graduating from College of the Atlantic, she has resided on North Haven, a small island community off the coast of Rockland.
Pingree held various farming and care-taking jobs until 1981, when she started North Island Yarn, a cottage industry of hand knitters with a retail store on North Haven. Her business expanded and became North Island Designs, employing as many as ten workers. They began marketing knitting kits and pattern books nationwide through 1,200 retail stores and 100,000 mail-order catalogues. Through North Island Designs, Pingree authored and produced five knitting books between 1986 and 1992. Eisenhower Fellowships selected her as a USA Eisenhower Fellow in 1997.
As the leader of Common Cause, Pingree was active in the organization's programs in media reform, elections, ethics, and money in politics. She supported net neutrality, mandatory voter-verified paper ballots, public financing of congressional elections, national popular vote (a workaround for the Electoral College), and an independent ethics commission for Congress. She stepped down from Common Cause in February 2007 to return to her home state and run for Congress in 2008.
Pingree was first elected to the Maine Senate in 1992, winning election in the 21st district, carrying every town in the district apart from Belmont. She was outspoken against going to war against Iraq, although counseled by party insiders to avoid that subject. She was redistrict to the 12th district, and reelected in 1994, 1996, and 1998. In 2000, she was unable to seek reelection due to term limits.
Pingree represented Knox County in the Maine Senate. She was elected Maine's second female majority leader in 1996.
During her tenure as a state legislator, Pingree made nationwide headlines when she authored the nation's first bill regulating prescription drug prices, Maine Rx. She also shepherded Maine's largest land-bill initiative, Land for Maine's Future.
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Chellie Pingree
Chellie Pingree (/ˈʃɛli ˈpɪŋɡriː/ SHELL-ee PING-gree; born Rochelle Marie Johnson; April 2, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009. Her district includes most of the southern part of the state, centered around the Portland area.
A member of the Democratic Party, Pingree was a member of the Maine Senate from 1992 to 2000, serving as majority leader for her last four years. She ran for the United States Senate in 2002, losing to incumbent Republican Susan Collins. From 2003 until 2006, she was president and CEO of Common Cause. She is the first Democratic woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.
Pingree was born Rochelle Marie Johnson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Harry and Dorothy Johnson. She moved to Maine as a teenager and had her first name legally changed to Chellie. She attended the University of Southern Maine and graduated from College of the Atlantic with a degree in human ecology. Since graduating from College of the Atlantic, she has resided on North Haven, a small island community off the coast of Rockland.
Pingree held various farming and care-taking jobs until 1981, when she started North Island Yarn, a cottage industry of hand knitters with a retail store on North Haven. Her business expanded and became North Island Designs, employing as many as ten workers. They began marketing knitting kits and pattern books nationwide through 1,200 retail stores and 100,000 mail-order catalogues. Through North Island Designs, Pingree authored and produced five knitting books between 1986 and 1992. Eisenhower Fellowships selected her as a USA Eisenhower Fellow in 1997.
As the leader of Common Cause, Pingree was active in the organization's programs in media reform, elections, ethics, and money in politics. She supported net neutrality, mandatory voter-verified paper ballots, public financing of congressional elections, national popular vote (a workaround for the Electoral College), and an independent ethics commission for Congress. She stepped down from Common Cause in February 2007 to return to her home state and run for Congress in 2008.
Pingree was first elected to the Maine Senate in 1992, winning election in the 21st district, carrying every town in the district apart from Belmont. She was outspoken against going to war against Iraq, although counseled by party insiders to avoid that subject. She was redistrict to the 12th district, and reelected in 1994, 1996, and 1998. In 2000, she was unable to seek reelection due to term limits.
Pingree represented Knox County in the Maine Senate. She was elected Maine's second female majority leader in 1996.
During her tenure as a state legislator, Pingree made nationwide headlines when she authored the nation's first bill regulating prescription drug prices, Maine Rx. She also shepherded Maine's largest land-bill initiative, Land for Maine's Future.