Ben Chipman

Ben Chipman (born August 18, 1975) is an American politician from Maine. He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2010 as an independent by defeating Democrat Jill Barkley.
Chipman was elected in 2010 as an independent candidate for a seat that had previously been held by Herb Adams. In 2012 Adams resurfaced to challenge Chipman in an attempt to win back his former seat. Chipman was re-elected with 54% of the vote, defeating former Democratic state legislator Adams and Republican Gwen Tuttle.
Chipman was also a member of Portland's Charter Commission from 2009-2010, which rewrote the City Charter. He worked in the Legislature from 2002-2006 as legislative aide to John Eder, a member of the Maine Green Independent Party. During his first term, Chipman was the Maine House of Representative's only independent. In 2012, fellow unenrolleds Jeffrey Evangelos, Joseph E. Brooks and James J. Campbell joined Chipman in the Maine House.
Chipman was easily re-elected in 2014, receiving nearly 60% of the vote in a three way race. He has helped secure funding for community policing and substance abuse treatment and has been a champion for reducing homelessness and poverty. He is a longtime advocate for equality and civil rights. He has also been an environmental leader and is serving his second term on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Chipman has 20 years of experience working on public policy issues including health care, education, transportation, equality, and the environment. He is a lifelong Mainer and a graduate of the University of Maine.
Chipman announced on September 4, 2015 that he was joining the Democratic Party. He stated that one of his priorities is to hold Maine Gov. Paul LePage accountable for his behavior and by joining the majority party in the Maine House of Representatives he would be in a better position to accomplish that goal. He is one of three members of the Maine House who requested an investigation of Governor LePage for using $530,000 of taxpayer funds to pressure a private school into firing their new president, a political rival of the Governor. The state's Government Oversight Committee unanimously voted launch the investigation. He has also advocated for the impeachment of LePage.