Ralph Chapman (born February 5, 1951) is a former

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

. He represented the 133rd district, which covers parts of Hancock County. Originally elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he later became an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and finally a Green under the

Maine Green Independent Party The Maine Green Independent Party is a state-level political party affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. It is the oldest state green party in the United States. It was founded following an informal meeting of 17 environmental ...

since September 22, 2017.

Biography

Chapman graduated from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1973. He worked as the principal and technical director of LEO Engineering from 1987 until 1993 and was consultant and owner of Ralph Chapman Consulting from 2000 until 2003. Beginning in 2003, he served as coordinator and instructor of United Technologies Center. Chapman was first elected to the House in 2010, and reelected in 2012, 2014, and 2016. On May 26, 2017, Chapman, along with fellow representative

Denise Harlow Denise Patricia Harlow is an American politician from Maine. Harlow, an independent from Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 202 ...

, unenrolled from the Democratic Party and became an independent. Both were speculated to have unenrolled due to their opposition to a bill which would allow open-pit mining in the state of Maine. On September 22, 2017, Chapman became a member of the

. He is the first Green Party legislator in Maine since

John Eder John Eder (born January 18, 1969) is an American activist and politician from Maine. Eder, a Democrat, lives in Biddeford. He is a former member of the Maine Green Independent Party, the Maine affiliate of the national Green Party. He served i ...

, who served from 2003 until 2007 and the first Green Party state legislator in the country since

Fred Smith Fred, Frederic, or Frederick Smith may refer to: In literature *Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (1907–1975), British peer and biographer *Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead (1936–1985), British peer and author * Frederick E. Smith ...

of Arkansas, who was elected as a Green but became a Democrat in 2014. Chapman was term-limited in 2018 and left office in January 2019.

Personal life

Chapman and his wife, Rebecca, have 5 children.

Political positions

For the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, Chapman endorsed

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. He also is an advocate of environmental issues.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Ralph 1951 births Living people Maine Democrats Maine Greens Maine Independents Green Party of the United States officeholders Members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Brooksville, Maine Tufts University alumni 21st-century American politicians