I'm looking forward to marking Hannah Pingree as my No. 1 choice for governor on June 8! 

I first saw Hannah as a young girl modeling wool sweaters featured in a knitting book published as part of her mother’s sheep and yarn business on North Haven. Perhaps that is where Hannah began her business education - learning at home, in the family business.

A few years later, I met 14-year-old Hannah when she and her mother copresented a session on girls’ leadership at the annual Camden Girls Conference. It was clear that Hannah was already developing her own leadership, working alongside her mother to inspire the next generation of young women.

Years later, Hannah — just 26 years old — was elected to the State House. 

I once watched her chair a legislative committee hearing in Augusta, struck by her professional, respectful demeanor.  As each speaker finished, Hannah would tap her microphone on, summarize the main point with clarity and courtesy, and thank the speaker. She set a positive tone for the entire proceeding while moving things quickly forward. It’s no surprise that Hannah’s colleagues voted her to be the youngest female Speaker of the House in the entire country.

Recently, I’ve been phoning people, inviting them to Meet & Greets and Town Halls throughout Maine. Former legislators who have worked with Hannah in the past and answered my call have consistently praised her leadership and enthusiastically supported her candidacy for governor.

Most recently Hannah’s leadership of the Office of Policy and Innovation shows she has been on the front lines of moving Maine forward. The position has provided her with the understanding, insights and connections so valuable for our next governor. 

Hannah has the temperament and integrity that make her a good leader for all  Maine’s people. She has developed her leadership skills from her earliest years. Her experience at the state level and the relationships she has established put her in an excellent position to guide our state forward in a positive manner and be an outstanding governor.  I hope you, too, will join me in voting for Hannah! 

Mary Orear lives in Rockport