Chloe Maxmin

Chloe Sophia Maxmin (born 1992) is an American Democratic politician and environmental activist who served as the Maine State Senator for District 13. A resident of Nobleboro, she was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in November 2018 and to the Maine Senate in November 2020, defeating incumbent Minority Leader Dana Dow. Maxmin was the first Democrat ever to represent Maine House District 88, the youngest member of the 129th Maine Legislature, and is the youngest female state senator in Maine's history.

Chloe Maxmin
Maxmin in 2020
Member of the Maine Senate
from the 13th district
In office
December 2, 2020 – December 7, 2022
Preceded byDana Dow
Succeeded byCameron Reny
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
from the 88th district
In office
December 5, 2018 – December 2, 2020
Preceded byDeborah Sanderson
Succeeded byMichael Lemelin
Personal details
Born1992 (age 30–31)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHarvard University (AB)
Websitechloe.mainecandidate.com

Early life and education

Maxmin was born in 1992[1] and grew up on a venison[2] farm in Nobleboro, Maine.[3] She attended Lincoln Academy.[4] Inspired by a 2005 proposal by Plum Creek Development Company to develop Moosehead Lake in the North Maine Woods,[5] she founded the Lincoln Academy Climate Action Club as a ninth grader.[6]. Her late father Doctor Jim Maxmin was a former CEO of Volvo[7]

The Climate Action Club conducted a massive reusable shopping bag campaign, established a no-idling policy on the Lincoln Academy campus, recycled 4,000 batteries and won a $5,000 national award to install solar panels at the school. In part for her work with the Climate Action Club, Maxmin was featured on the "Communities" episode during Season 3 of Big Ideas for a Small Planet in 2009[8] and was one of ten national winners of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes in 2010.[5]

Maxmin graduated from Lincoln Academy in 2010 and attended Harvard University beginning in the fall of 2011.[5] At Harvard, Maxmin led the Community Action Committee[9] and co-founded the Divest Harvard campaign focused on ending the University's endowment relationship with fossil fuel companies.[4] Divest Harvard began with 10 participants in 2012 and grew to almost 70,000 by 2015.[10]

Maxmin was named a Green Hero by Rolling Stone[11], and received an annual Brower Youth Award,[12] both in 2013. In 2014, the Maine Women's Fund presented her with the 2014 Samantha Smith Award for her youth activism and work toward social change.[9]

Maxmin graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with a degree in social studies and a minor in environmental science and public policy[2] and returned to Maine.[13]

Political career

Maine State House

In February 2018, Maxmin announced her candidacy for District 88 representative to the Maine House of Representatives.[13] In the Democratic primary on June 12, 2018, she defeated Alan Plummer 80%-20%. In the 2018 Maine House of Representatives general election, Maxmin defeated Republican Michael Lemelin 53%-47%, becoming the first Democrat ever to represent House District 88[14] and the youngest woman in the Maine State Legislature.[2]

Maxmin served as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry in the 129th Maine Legislature.[15] In March 2019, she introduced the “Act to Establish a Green New Deal for Maine”, and on April 16, 2019, the Maine AFL-CIO announced its support for the bill. This was the first time a state AFL-CIO chapter has endorsed a Green New Deal proposal.[16] Although the final bill was significantly smaller than the original (it was pared from five sections down to two),[17] it passed the Maine Legislature in June 2019[18] and was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on June 17, 2019.[19][3]

Maxmin is a graduate of the Emerge Maine candidate training program.[20]

Maine State Senate

On January 13, 2020, Maxmin announced her candidacy for Maine State Senate District 13. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary and received all 5,335 votes cast. In the 2020 Maine State Senate general election, Maxmin defeated incumbent Senate Minority Leader Dana Dow 51%-49%[21][22] becoming the youngest female state senator in Maine's history.[1][3]

Rural Runner, a short film about Maxmin's 2020 Maine State Senate race, was released in October 2020.[22]

In January 2021, Maxmin was one of over 70 lawmakers to sign a letter asking the Maine Public Utilities Commission to reinstate a moratorium on power disconnections during the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine.[23]

In February 2021, she was appointed by Senate president Troy Jackson to the Maine Climate Council.[24]

In May 2021 she appeared on Fox News making the claim from her book that Democrats have abandoned rural America [25]

On January 12, 2022 Chloe Maxmin announced she decided not to seek re-election and would leave office on December 7, 2022.

Electoral history

2018 Maine House District 88
2018 Maine House of Representatives District 88 Primary Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chloe Maxmin 730 79.9%
Democratic Alan Plummer 184 20.1%
Total votes 914 100.0%
2018 Maine House of Representatives District 88 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chloe Maxmin 2,272 52.52%
Republican Michael Lemelin 2,054 47.48%
Total votes 4,326 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

2020 Maine State Senate
2020 Maine State Senate District 13 Primary Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chloe Maxmin 5,335 100.0%
Total votes 5,335 100.0%
2020 Maine State Senate District 13 General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chloe Maxmin 12,806 51.5%
Republican Dana Dow (incumbent) 12,072 48.5%
Total votes 24,878 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

Works
  • with Canyon Woodward, Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It, ISBN 978-080700751-8 [26]

References
  1. "About Chloe". First Here, Then Everywhere. December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  2. Paradysz, Amy (January 29, 2019). "Chloe Maxmin, Maine House of Representatives (District 88)". Maine Women Magazine. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. Outside editorial board (May 11, 2021). "48 Reasons to Feel Optimistic Today". Outside. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  4. Molarsky-Beck, Marina. "Chloe Maxmin". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  5. "Nobleboro Youth Receives National Award". The Lincoln County News. October 31, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  6. "House Candidate Chloe Maxmin Visits LA Climate Action Club". Lincoln Academy. May 14, 2018. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  7. "Dr. Jim Maxmin". February 25, 2016.
  8. "Chloe Maxmin". North American Association for Environmental Education. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  9. "Maine Women's Fund Announces 2014 Leadership Luncheon and Award Recipients". Maine Women's Fund. April 22, 2014. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  10. Sharp, Jeb. "Activists go up against Drew Faust as Harvard refuses to divest carbon". The World. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  11. "The Fossil Fuel Resistance: Meet the New Green Heroes". Rolling Stone. April 11, 2014. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  12. On the Move, Portland Press Herald, May 18, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  13. vanden Heuvel, Katrina (November 13, 2018). "Progressives point the way to recapturing the rural vote". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  14. DeRose, Cara (December 3, 2018). "Their future on the line, young Mainers lobby for climate action". Maine Beacon. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  15. "Representative Chloe Sophia Maxmin". Maine House Democrats. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  16. Mandel, Kyla (April 16, 2019). "Maine's Green New Deal bill first in country to be backed by labor unions". Think Progress. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  17. Stephanson, Wen (February 16, 2021). "How a Climate-Justice Champion Won Office in Rural, Working-Class Maine". The Nation. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  18. Merchant, Emma Foehringer (June 12, 2019). "Maine Passes State-Level Green New Deal for Workforce Development". Greentech Media. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  19. "Summary of LD 1282". State of Maine Legislature. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  20. "Alumnae In Elected Office". Emerge Maine. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  21. "Chloe Maxmin takes Senate District 13 seat over longtime incumbent Dana Dow". Penobscot Bay Pilot. Maine-OK Enterprises, Inc. November 3, 2020. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  22. Conley, Julia (November 6, 2020). "'I Mostly Listen': Offering Blueprint for Democrats, Green New Deal Champion Chloe Maxmin Unseats Powerful GOP Incumbent in Rural Maine". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  23. Popp, Evan (January 6, 2021). "PUC declines to reinstate power shutoff moratorium despite request from dozens of lawmakers". Maine Beacon. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  24. "Maxmin appointed to Maine Climate Council". Village Soup. February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  25. "Democrat says party has abandoned rural America: 'They deserve a seat at the table'". Fox News. May 6, 2022.
  26. "Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends on It - Chloe Maxmin & Canyon Woodard". Bioneers. April 22, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
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