Governor Janet Mills: From hitchhiking through Europe to leading the state of Maine

The People's People from Spectrum News

Being the chief executive of a state during a pandemic is a job nobody could prepare for, but Maine Governor Janet Mills learned to work through challenges and thrive through adversity at an early age. In the debut episode of The People’s People podcast, Governor Mills speaks with journalist Lindsey Christ about the more unusual experiences that helped shape her into becoming the first woman elected governor of Maine. That includes taking on a newspaper route at the age of five, “slinging hash” in a restaurant, being a psychiatric aide at a hospital and helping raise five stepdaughters. And Governor Mills explains why being the first woman to be a district attorney in New England was a starker experience than when she broke the glass ceiling in the executive office. They discuss how while Mills was making the tough decisions for Maine during the Covid-19 pandemic, she was also learning to live with the same restrictions as other Mainers, which included trying to bake over video calls with her grandchildren.

And Governor Mills is the first to take on The People's People lightning round of sticky questions only a Mainer could answer - like whether she would rather sleep in a tent or an RV.