Hannah Pingree’s conflict of interest while working for Mills
GOPIF GRANT RECIPIENT HIRED PINGREE’S HUSBAND TO MAKE CLIMATE FILMS
Hannah Pingree’s husband cashed in with climate group receiving grants
Augusta – New information reveals that while Hannah Pingree served in Janet Mills’ climate-policy office, her husband was cashing in on video production work from a Maine government climate grant recipient.
The Island Institute received a $37,458 Community Resilience Partnership service-provider grant for climate-resilience work in spring of 2022. At the same time, the Island Institute was a client of Beechwood Film, of which Jason Mann, Pingree’s husband, was a producer and editor. Mann directed and edited climate-related films for the Island Institute.
Concerns with transparency have also arisen. The Island Institute’s Form 990 covering July 2021 through June 2022 shows $986,881 in government grants. The institute spent hundreds of thousands on outside professional and publication services and nearly $1.29 million on “climate resilience programming.” This filing does not identify Mann, Beechwood Film, or individual government grants at the vendor level, which leaves the definitive funding source for Mann’s film work obscured.
“This arrangement reeks of self-dealing, a hallmark of the Mills-Pingree Administration. Hannah Pingree can’t be trusted for transparency in governing,” said Maine GOP Chairman Jim Deyermond. “With this obvious conflict being unveiled, it is clear that Hannah Pingree doesn’t work for the everyday Maine people, but rather, for environmental groups and her own family interests. Hannah Pingree has all the wrong priorities.”
“Hannah Pingree is no better than the rest of the Democrat ticket – from Troy Jackson’s insider lobbying deals with his own family and Matt Dunlap’s acceptance of a corrupted no-bid contract process,” said Deyermond.
September 17, 2026
