Meet Ben

A 7th-generation, life-long Mainer, Ben grew up in Durham and attended Brunswick High School. His career began in politics. In 2014, he was as an intern for Congressman Mike Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign and, later, that same year for the Maine Democratic Party. During the 2016 election cycle, he worked as the Deputy Finance Director for the Maine Democratic Party. After finishing his undergraduate degree in 2017 at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, Ben was hired by then-Attorney General Janet Mills for the role of Finance Director on her 2018 campaign for governor. After Governor Mills’ inauguration, he consulted on a few campaigns including the Portland mayoral race in 2019 as the Finance & Compliance Director for Ethan Strimling.

Since January 2020, Ben has been part of the team at Serra Public Affairs in Augusta and is the Senior Account Manager. The firm specializes in earned media, crisis communications, brand elevation plans, corporate strategies, content creation and government relations.

Ben’s work ethic and motivation for success came from his parents and grandparents. His pépère was the oldest of 14 children born in Van Buren. Growing up during difficult times, he chose to leave school in the 8th grade to help support his family. At a very young age he worked at various odd jobs, including working in the woods of The County with his father logging for the local lumber yards. Later, he worked for Maine Line Fence Company for 35 years before retiring. This work ethic was passed on to Ben’s dad who became a first-generation college student at Thomas College where he met Ben’s mom, a Skowhegan native, in 1980.

In early 2020 Ben moved to Hallowell where he has lived since. He considers himself so lucky to have found this incredible community. This is where he landed a dream job, met so many friends and colleagues, bought his first home, and even found love in the midst of a global pandemic. Ben doesn’t see himself going anywhere and looks forward giving back to the City through public service. He and his partner Seth live just up the hill from downtown with their dog, Silas.

Some other things you might not know about Ben:

• In college, he spent nearly 6 months studying abroad in Bhutan which is a landlocked, South Asian, Buddhist kingdom nestled in the Eastern Himalayas Between Tibet and India.

• In 2023, he began teaching himself how to fly a drone and has dabbled in drone photography. He’s enjoyed using the picturesque backdrop of Maine for this hobby and sharing some shots on social media. 

• He is the 6th cousin of President Calvin Coolidge and he collects Coolidge campaign memorabilia.