Rep. Chellie Pingree

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D Maine, 1st (2009-) In Office

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Biographical

Full Name: Rochelle Marie Pingree
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: SHEH-lee PING-gree
Date of Birth: April 2, 1955 (age: 69)
Place of Birth: Minneapolis, Minn.
Religion: Lutheran
Hometown: Minneapolis, Minn.
Place of Residence: North Haven, Maine
Previous Occupation: Organic farmer
Alternate Name: Rochelle Marie Johnson

Wikipedia

Family:

Previous relationship: S. Donald Sussman hedge fund manager Divorced, June 18, 2011 in North Haven, Maine

Previous relationship: Charlie Pingree boat builder Divorced

3 children: Hannah , Cecily, Asa

Relations with people in our database:

Mother of Cecily Pingree, Hannah Pingree

Mother-in-law of Jason Mann

Biography:

Chellie Pingree never anticipated a life in politics. Living on the offshore island of North Haven, Maine, she raised her kids and ran a small business. She served on the school board and as the local tax assessor, a job no one else in town wanted. But in 1991, when she was approached about running for State Senate, she jumped at the chance.

She scored a remarkable upset, defeating a popular Republican, and went on to serve four terms in the Maine Senate. But throughout her political career, from Augusta to Washington and beyond, the lessons she learned on North Haven have always been her guide: Be accountable to your neighbors, and always use your common sense.

Chellie Johnson (she has legally changed her name from "Rochelle") was bo rn in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1955, the youngest of four children. Her father, Harry, worked in advertising and her mother, Dorothy, was a nurse. Chellie moved to Maine as a teenager, attended the University of Southern Maine, and graduated from the College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor. After college, she moved to North Haven, an island town of 350 people twelve miles off the coast of Rockland, to raise her family and make a living.

Chellie has worked hard throughout her life - as a mother, as a farmer, as a small business owner, and in politics. She knows how difficult it can be to meet payroll and run a business in a small, rural community. Right after college, Chellie and her husband, Charlie, spent several years running a small farm and selling produce locally. In 1981, she started North Island Yarn, a cottage industry of local knitters, with a retail store on the island. The business expanded quickly, becoming North Island Designs, and employed as many as ten local workers in peak seasons. The business sold knitting kits and pattern books nationwide through 500 retail stores and 100,000 mail order catalogues. She sold the business in 1993. Today, in addition to her political life, Chellie co-owns and helps manage Nebo Lodge, a bed & breakfast and restaurant on North Haven, which she started with several partners in 2006.

Chellie was elected to the Maine State Senate in 1992, representing Knox County. In 1996, Chellie was chosen by her peers to be the Maine Senate Majority Leader. She helped lead the Senate for four more years, until leaving office due to term limits. As a Senator, she fought for economic and social justice, taking on powerful adversaries - most notably the pharmaceutical lobby. In her last session, Pingree sponsored one of the nation's first prescription drug pricing bills, MaineRX. After a legal fight that led all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the bill became law, and has since been a model for states around the country working to lower prescription drug prices.

Chellie also sponsored the successful "Parents as Scholars" program, a national model for welfare reform, which continues to help working Maine parents gain access to education to help them achieve a better life for their families. She led successful efforts to protect Maine's environment, for corporate accountability, to protect workers, to promote a women's right to choose, and in support of Maine's small businesses. As a state Senator, Chellie was also a founding member of the Maine Economic Growth Council.Pingree's leadership in Maine politics led to numerous international appointments. She traveled to Hungary as an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow, served as a member of the White House delegation to observe elections in Bosnia, and was a member of a U.S. delegation to Northern Ireland, working with women political leaders there.

After being term-limited from the Maine Senate in 2000, Pingree challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Susan Collins in 2002. As one of the few outspoken opponents of the Iraq War running for U.S. Senate, Chellie mounted a strong, but ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

From 2003 to 2007, Chellie served as the National President and CEO of Common Cause, a non-partisan citizen activist group with nearly 300,000 members and 35 state chapters. Common Cause's mission is to help citizens make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest. Under Chellie's leadership, Common Cause increased its membership and diversified its agenda to include limiting media concentration and consolidation, promoting Net Neutrality, and election reform, while continuing to pursue its traditional goals of campaign finance reform and oversight of government ethics and accountability.

In 2008 Chellie was elected to Congress from Maine’s 1st Congressional District—the first woman elected to Congress from that District. It also marks the first time in American history that women make up the majority of a state’s Congressional Delegation.

Chellie has three grown children--Asa, Cecily, and Hannah, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. She is also a proud grandmother. See more >>

Miscellaneous Links:

Ballotpedia

C-SPAN

GovTrack

Project VoteSmart

Campaign Links:

Website, campaign

Email, campaign: campaign@pingreeforcongress.com

X (Twitter), campaign

Facebook, campaign

Open Secrets political finance profile

YouTube, campaign

Flickr, campaign

Social Networking:

Facebook, official

X (Twitter), official

YouTube, official

Instagram, official

Flickr, official

Official Links:

Website, official

Press Releases

Education

College of the Atlantic - BA, human ecology (1979)
University of Maine, Portland-Gorham - Attended (1973)

Office History

Congressional Offices:

U.S. House of Representatives (Jan. 3, 2009-) In Office

Member, 1st Congressional District of Maine

Election Results

2021 (Nov. 3, 2020 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 60.49%
Democrat

Jay Thomas Allen, 36.83%
Republican
2019 (Nov. 6, 2018 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 59.00%
Democrat

Mark Irving Holbrook, 32.00%
Republican

Martin Grohman, 9.00%
Non-designated
2017 (Nov. 8, 2016 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 57.99%
Democrat

Mark Irving Holbrook, 41.94%
Republican
2015 (Nov. 4, 2014 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 57.98%
Democrat

Isaac J Misiuk, 29.43%
Republican

Richard P Murphy, 8.51%
Independent
2013 (Nov. 6, 2012 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 62.08%
Democrat

Jonathan T E Courtney, 33.74%
Republican
2011 (Nov. 2, 2010 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 56.82%
Democrat

Dean Peter Scontras, 43.17%
Republican
2009 (Nov. 4, 2008 election)

1st Congressional District of Maine

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 54.90%
Democrat

Charles E. Summers Jr. (Charlie), 45.10%
Republican
2003 (Nov. 5, 2002 election)

U.S. Senate Seat for Maine (Class 2)

Susan Margaret Collins, 58.44%
Republican

Rochelle Marie Pingree (Chellie), 41.56%
Democrat

Associated Organizations

Board membership:

Nebo Lodge Inc.
Officer
National Council on the Arts (July 2017-)
Ex Officio Member

Own leadership PAC:

Farm to Table PAC

Election campaign:

Awards

Spirit of Enterprise Award (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) (June 2020)
Golden Triangle Award (National Farmers Union) (Sept. 2019)
Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Leadership Award (Congressional Hunger Center) (July 2018)
Distinguished Community Health Advocate Award (National Association of Community Health Centers Inc.) (2018)
James Beard Foundation Leadership Award (James Beard Foundation) (June 21, 2017)
Golden Triangle Award (National Farmers Union) (Sept. 2016)

Official Signature

$Official signature$

Contact Information

Email, member official contact form

Office Addresses:

Main Office:

Address:	2354 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-1901
Phone:	202-225-6116
Fax:	202-225-5590

View Larger Map

» District Offices

Lobbying and Foreign Representation

Listed as lobbyist by registrants:

Common Cause (2003-2007)

Lobbied on behalf of:

Common Cause

Privately Financed Travel

15 trips taken between 2015 - 2024 costing $71,692

See map of trips

Trip Destinations:

Trip Sponsors:

» see more

Personal Financial Disclosures

Disclosures as a member:

Annual: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2017 (Amendment), 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2012 (Amendment), 2012 (Amendment), 2012 (Amendment), 2011, 2010, 2010 (Amendment), 2009
Election Candidate: 2008
Extension Letter: 2021, 2020, 2015, 2014, 2013
Stock transaction: 05/08/2024, 04/10/2024, 02/06/2024, 11/08/2023, 06/03/2022, 08/13/2021, 04/13/2021, 08/10/2020, 01/29/2020, 05/16/2019, 05/15/2019, 04/09/2014, 01/13/2014, 08/13/2014, 12/04/2013, 11/19/2013, 10/02/2013, 06/04/2013, 05/16/2013, 03/22/2013, 12/20/2012, 11/30/2012
» see more

Congressional Staff

Staff Turnover:

Turnover Index: 0.2
(House Average: 0.25)
» See more

Staff Salary Rate:

Office Median Annual Salary: $83,000.00
» See more

Staff Salaries Paid:

» See full staffer list

» view all salaries

Committees

House Agriculture Committee

House Agriculture Committee Forestry Subcommittee

House Agriculture Committee Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee

House Appropriations Committee

House Appropriations Committee Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Subcommittee

House Appropriations Committee Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Ranking Member

House Appropriations Committee Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

Caucuses

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As the death of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) shook Congress and the rest of the country, members and staffers alike took to Twitter to share fond memories of the war hero and political giant.Here are some notable tweets from both sides of the aisle: read more
Congresswoman taking home James Beard Award

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on June 22, 2017
With D.C.'s new-found footing as a destination for foodies, it should come as no surprise that several Washingtonians are taking home prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards this year. Winners include renowned baker Mark Furstenberg, organic-restaurant trailblazer Nora Pouillon and, of course, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). Huh? read more
Pingree first trip features plenty of food, no meals

Posted by Steve Shapiro on Nov. 6, 2015
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has been office for nearly seven years and finally took her first privately sponsored trip to a New York Times food conference. She might have come away a tad hungry. read more
Posted by Garrett Snedeker on April 15, 2013
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has brought a former lobbyist for a variety of education interests onto her staff. read more
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Posted by Daimon Eklund on July 19, 2012
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The filings of 17 senators and 75 representatives were not available when the personal financial dislcosures were released Thursday. read more

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