At the age of 26, newly elected Maine State Rep. Elsie Flemings (D-Bar Harbor) has a long history of public interest work. Rep. Flemings has long been dedicated to public service, serving as a fair trade organizer for the congressional campaign of Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio), and later as his congressional aide once he was elected. Her interest in sustainable development and fair trade led her to her present position as coordinator of the Union River Watershed Coalition.  This desire to help the environment and promote sustainable communities ultimately motivated Rep. Flemings to seek public office. “I’ve been involved in public policy and community organizing for a number of years…and I felt that [seeking elected office] was the way I could use my energy, skills, and experience to better promote the important issues and be an advocate for my community.” There was no question about how she would finance her campaign. Having grown up in Maine, where the Clean Elections system has been in place for five cycles, public financing of elections has become the norm and the decision to opt-in was an easy one.  “I had known about our public financing system as long as I had been involved with our local politics, and it was so inspiring and heartening, as a citizen, that we had this [system]…that opens up the process to more people. There was no question about whether I would use the system – it definitely was something I always planned on doing,” she said.  As a young woman, Rep. Flemings sees the system opening doors for others like her and other typically underrepresented groups. By opening up the process to more people, such as those who have less financial means and aren’t networked into big money contributors, a more diverse pool of candidates emerges, she says. She encourages other young community leaders to run for office with Clean Elections. “It’s incredibly accessible, if they’re motivated to run for office, then they absolutely should. The Clean Elections system really makes sure that they don’t have to worry about the financing side of things.” Now that she has won her race and been sworn into office, Rep. Flemings is ready to work and plans to put her background in public policy to good use. She has been named to the Taxation Committee and is looking forward to making substantive changes to the tax laws and enacting reforms, without the burden of special interest influence. ”The majority of us come in here without being beholden to anybody, except for our citizens – and that really sets a good foundation for public policy making. It allows lawmakers to advocate for the greatest public good and I’d say public financing is certainly an important mechanism to ensure we do that.” Rep. Flemings certainly has a lot of work ahead of her, beginning with fixing the budget gap, but she is enthusiastic about the future and looks forward to serving in the legislature for years to come.