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Chellie Pingree

Southern Maine will enter what promises to be a historic session of Congress without the benefit of a seasoned representative.

In a period in which the federal government will be called on to rewrite the laws governing financial regulation along with energy and health-care policy while continuing the oversight of a two-front war, many decisions that will affect the lives of Mainers will be made.

With Rep. Tom Allen's decision to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, the 1st District will lose a veteran lawmaker, seasoned by 12 years in Washington. In this volatile time his best replacement is Chellie Pingree, the Democratic challenger for his seat.

Pingree is a proven leader who has demonstrated her ability to rise to the top in a variety of different circumstances. She would take that ability with her to Congress, promising the people of Southern Maine a forceful voice in the debate during this crucial period.

Pingree started her career in municipal government in the island community of North Haven, where she also ran a small business.

During her eight years in the state Senate, she rose to the position of majority leader, spearheading the bipartisan effort to pass first-in-the-nation legislation aimed at providing lower-cost prescription drugs to state residents.

After she was term limited out of the Legislature, Pingree ran a hard-fought campaign against Collins in 2002, and then was appointed president of Common Cause, the national non-partisan government-reform lobbying group.

This year, back in Maine, she ran in a six-way primary in which she drew 44 percent of the vote in a strong field of challengers.

Each step of the way in her career, Pingree has stood out as a leader, and that's why the residents of Southern Maine would benefit from her representation in Congress. Which is not to say that we agree with every position that she has taken during this campaign.

During the primary, Pingree said that, if elected, she would favor holding impeachment hearings for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney during the short period between the day members of Congress are sworn in and a new president is inaugurated.

While this might have been a popular position for party activists likely to turn out for a primary, it would be a wasteful and destructive way for a new Congress to get to work.

Now that a worsening financial crisis portends a deep recession, the next Congress should waste no time or good will on partisan battles.

Pingree faces a tough challenger in Republican nominee Charlie Summers.

Like Pingree, Summers has been a small-business owner and a state senator. He has relevant experience working on the staff of Sen. Olympia Snowe and as New England's regional administrator of the Small Business Administration, and he has first-hand experience regarding the war in Iraq, from his service there as a Navy Reserve officer on active duty.

Summers is a moderate Republican whose positions on many issues would also would reflect the make-up of the 1st District. That makes this a close call.

But in the end, Pingree's forceful personality and proven ability as a political leader give her the edge for our endorsement.