Original Coverage & Source Attribution: joycevance.substack.com
The first time I met Hannah Pingree was at a local parade in Freeport, Maine. My daughter was working there at the time. I saw Hannah walking around, casually chatting with folks. I told her I wasn’t a Maine voter, but I was interested in her ideas for improving housing, which is a real issue for Mainers, as it is for a lot of people across the country. I was impressed by how substantive her ideas were and the way she talked about them like they were real possibilities—policies she’d pursue if elected, not just talking points. I’ve paid attention to her ever since.
Hannah emerged as the winner from a Democratic gubernatorial primary in Maine that was blessed with an abundance of likable, qualified candidates who ran an incredibly collegial race, joking that they’d all work for whoever won at one event. It was a dose of sanity in the middle of this tense political season, a real respite from the nastiness of Alabama politics. And a good reminder that people who are in public service for all the right reasons still exist.
We need that right now, especially from America’s governors. Something we’re seeing is that in the no-guardrails era of would-be king Trump, state leaders have the ability to prevent some of the worst abuses. Governors have intervened on issues like using the National Guard to police protests and have exerted leadership on a range of issues where national leaders have failed to. During the final years of Trump’s time in office, it may be governors, along with state attorneys general and secretaries of state, who protect rights like voting and access to medical care. So I’m especially delighted we have a chance to get to know Hannah better tonight.
We should expect more of our elected officials than the low standards the last decade has left us with. Talking with Hannah reminds me there is a generation of younger politicians coming along who understand this, and want to deliver. I love her explanation of what it was like to be the youngest speaker of state in a state legislature anywhere in the country and what she learned from leading the Governor’s Office of the Future in Maine.
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