Janet Mills, Governor
“Maine is no stranger to strong women who were ahead of their time: opera diva Lillian Nordica, writer Edna St. Vincent Millay, reformer Dorothea Dix, photographer Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, and the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress, Senator Margaret Chase Smith. Franklin County, my home, boasts of Cornelia "Fly Rod" Crosby, the first-ever registered Maine Guide, who guided Teddy Roosevelt through the Maine woods; and Carrie Stevens, who created the popular “Grey Ghost” streamer fly. These women exemplify the many people who have found spiritual and physical fulfillment, life and livelihood, in our great outdoors. I hope you will draw strength from and be inspired by these women and the countless others who blazed the trail with courage, strength, and fortitude.”
The first female governor of Maine, Janet Mills was sworn into office on January 2, 2019. Governor Mills first entered public service as assistant attorney general. She was elected the first woman District Attorney in New England, co-founded the Maine Women's Lobby, and was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. She also served as Maine’s first and only female Attorney General.