AMA: Troy Jackson

In my time as Senate President, we notched big wins. We built more affordable housing and created good-paying jobs.

What really frustrated me is that the folks at the top fought us tooth and nail when we wanted to include Project Labor Agreement language to encourage fair wages. But I stood my ground and we won. So not only did we create good-paying jobs, we also built more affordable housing.

But let’s not joke around - there is so much more that needs to be done.

Working families are being priced out of Maine while Wall Street investors and out-of-state millionaires buy up our communities. To start, I’m looking at surcharges on luxury homes for part-time residents to help stabilize local property taxes and support municipal services.

First year free: no family should worry about how to afford care when they’re welcoming a child into this world.

Universal child care is the goal. With the feds raiding health care for seniors and working people to line the pockets of the rich, we know states are going to be stretched thin. To start, as a bare minimum, I’ll make sure no working family pays more than 7 percent of their income on child care.

I hear you, but I don’t think it will be subtle–they’re gonna throw the kitchen sink at our movement. I was a DNC committee member in 2016 and proudly cast my vote for Bernie Sanders. When Trump won in November, nobody ever asked me how to save this party and return to our working class roots. Ten years later and we haven’t learned a single lesson.

We’ll be up against powerful forces on both sides of the aisle. Our goal is to build a movement strong enough to overcome those forces. We’re well on our way. We have more than 10,000 unique donors already, by far the most in this race.

I’ve proven I’ll speak up when my party gets it wrong and will fight like hell against greedy corporations and extremist republicans. I’m not interested in more partisan political games – I’m focused on taking on the system to deliver real results that make a difference in working Mainers’ lives.

I want to bring the National Democratic Party back to working-class values. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s the only path to meaningful victory. As goes Maine, so goes the nation.

Tribal Sovereignty. For too long, the state’s relationship with the Wabanaki Nations has amounted to nothing more than symbolic gestures and empty promises — and this is at the best of times. For much longer, the state’s relationship with the Wabanaki People has been far worse. With this Governor’s race, we have a chance to change that.

Buy American, Build Maine. If there is work that needs to be done in this state and in this country, and taxpayers are footing the bill, then the people living, working and paying taxes in this state and country should have the opportunity to do the job. And if there are materials or parts needed to do the job, those materials should be American-made whenever possible.

Actually, I think I’ll be the only Governor that is an active union member.

Strengthening unions is about putting power back in the hands of working-class people. To start, public employees deserve binding arbitration. We also need to ensure state investments support good-paying jobs.

What is the point of going through the arbitration process if the results aren’t binding? It is one of the many reasons that I’ve sponsored the bill in the Maine Legislature, secured its passage in both chambers and shepherded it to the Governor’s desk not once but twice. As Governor, I can promise you that we will finally get binding arbitration across the finish line.

All too often at-will employment is used to weaken unions and harm workers. I’ll look into what Montana has done and see if it’s a good model for my administration.

One thing I say often is that we don’t always need new laws, we need to start enforcing the laws already on the books. Too often we see this circus where a corporation makes billions breaking the law, the government “investigates,” maybe fines them for pocket change, and politicians pat themselves on the back and fire up their re-election campaigns. Lawyers make money, workers get screwed, and time marches on.

If the “fine” is lower than your profit, it’s just a cost of doing business. That has to stop. I will work with the Attorney General to aggressively prosecute corporate crime taking money out of regular folks pockets, making their jobs less safe, and harming our environment.

When I first ran for office, I ran as a Republican. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about the political parties - I just knew that when the people in our area needed help we were ignored by both political parties. And even our independent Governor.

I was eventually elected as an Independent. But after my first term, I became a Democrat because it was the party in Augusta that stood up for the things that I believed in - the things that mattered to me and my family.

Folks are struggling to put a roof over their head, heat their homes, pay for their medication and simply get by. They are tired, worried and angry. And those at the top are doing what they alway do - try to distract and divide us when we know the real culprit is greed. In the end people want their elected officials to fight for them regardless of their party affiliation. And that’s what I’ve done.

Look, I will work with whoever to help Mainers. I’ve worked with Governor LePage on some issues and I’ve worked with Governor Mills on issues.

I would work with President Trump on any policies beneficial to Maine people, and ferociously resist any attacks on our state. If he wants to prioritize American manufacturing then I’ll be right there with him.

If he continues this ICE-invasion, I’ll direct the Maine State Police to investigate and arrest any federal agents found to be violating our laws. I won’t get rolled by the old boy and I won’t back down when it comes to protecting the rights and liberties of Maine people.

Nothing pisses me off more. I stand with MSEA today, just like I’ve stood with them for my entire career. What’s happening to state workers is bullshit, and under my administration it would stop on day 1. While I always support the right for public employees to strike (with very narrow exemptions), I plan to provide a fair contract so state employees won’t have to strike. The state should be the standard for employee/employer relations.

Maine’s outdoor recreation economy has really taken off. I’m excited about tourism and I think we need to lean into it more. I believe we need to market this stronger and that it likely will need more resources. It is true that northern Maine has great opportunities that I am very aware of and I will be an enthusiastic cheerleader to bring the recognition it deserves.

We need to increase reimbursement rates, especially in rural areas. Hospitals are closing. We’ve lost 40 percent of our nursing homes in recent years. The situation is dire.

First of all, I don’t think my opponents have the same sense of urgency that I do. I don’t think they know what it’s like to forgo health care because you can’t afford it. And I don’t think they’ve worked long weeks where they weren’t sure if they would be able to make their payments.

I agree that this is a strong field of candidates vying to be Maine’s next Governor. I’m glad we have a ranked choice system and I trust it will result in a nominee most representative of Mainers’ needs.

What sets me apart is this: I am from a deep red area, I have substantial experience in the legislature, and I’ve had almost 100 bills vetoed by the last three governors, from both parties. I know how the system works, I know how often it fails working people, and I know how to fix it.

I won my last election by 5% in a district Trump won by 11%. Two years later, my opponent won by 30%. I am the only person with a proven track record of winning deep-red, Democratic skeptical voters while never compromising my values. You can stand for justice, equality, and human rights and win people from across the political spectrum if they believe you’ll really do something for them.

To me it is not about what party you are from, it’s about what is in your heart and your commitment to getting the job done. I have a long history of working not just across party-lines but across county lines. I’ve worked with Republican Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham on Food Sovereignty. I’ve worked with Former Republican Sen. Matt Pouliot on universal school meals. We’ve got to put Maine people over party. But make no mistake, that doesn’t mean compromising on our values.

We need to bring Government to the people. The special interests and their army of lobbyists. It is hard for working people to come to Augusta, so under my administration we will go to communities two weekends a month to hold hearings. I want to bring state government to the people and hear directly from them!