Rep. Poppy Arford

Rep. Poppy Arford is serving her third term in the Maine Legislature. She is a member of the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee, where she has led bipartisan efforts to improve health care price transparency and study a public option for health care coverage.

Arford previously served on the Brunswick Town Council and on Brunswick’s Sustainability Committee. She was named the 2023 Legislator of the Year by the Brunswick-based Independence Association.

Arford has worked as an Outward Bound instructor, a registered substance abuse counselor, and as the director of ShareCenter, a program that provides reusable resource materials to educators. She has served as a patient advocate on statewide health care quality improvement and price transparency efforts, including on the board of directors for Maine Health Data Organization.

A champion for affordable, stable housing, Arford sponsored legislation to create the Emergency Housing Matching Grant Program, which became law and is an example of her commitment to finding legislative and community-based solutions to ensure a home for all Maine people.

Arford holds a social work degree from the University of Southern Maine and is a graduate of the Hanley Health Leadership Development Program and the Council of State Governments Eastern Leadership Academy. She and her husband, Loren, have three adult children and a family dog named Happy.