Troy Jackson is Running for Governor

Former State Senate President Troy Jackson announced on Friday that he was forming a committee to consider running to be our next governor:

I’m a fan of Jackson’s and I wish him well. I’ve known Troy for around 7 years and knew him by reputation before that. Nearly everyone who knows him or has worked with him will tell you that he is someone who is principled, has integrity, and is for working people in our state. He is a very big supporter of labor unions and ran Bernie Sanders campaign in Maine.

Troy served in the Maine State House and State Senate for somewhere around 25 years (he took a term off at some point). He spent much of that time in leadership and most recently served as The President of the Maine Senate.

I had the opportunity to interview Troy during one one of his last days in office. You can listen to our conversation here:

Apple Podcasts:

Spotify:

For many years Troy has been trying to warn us about the dangers involved in the aerial spraying of glyphosate in the Northern Maine woods. Banning glyphosate was one of the primary reasons I supported Bobby Kennedy’s run for president. It is an incredibly toxic chemical that is used in Round Up and other herbicides.

As reported in the Maine Monitor, Troy said at a hearing: “If you go to an area that’s been sprayed by these aerial herbicides, the silence will take your breath away. It’s quite striking. There are no birds chirping, no squirrels running around and no trace of wildlife.”

Numerous studies have concluded that it is a neurotoxin and have linked it to birth defects and certain kinds of cancer.

Troy and his allies worked hard to get this banned four years ago. Unfortunately the bill was vetoed by Maine Governor Janet Mills. Jackson then accused Mills of being “too close to the (forestry) industry.”

Later, at a private lunch on the back deck of the restaurant I used to own, I expressed my concern about her vetoing this bill. She had no real rebuttal, except to say that Jackson just hated the company involved and that the spraying was no big deal.

A couple of weeks ago The Portland Press Herald dubbed Mills a “folk hero” for standing up to President Trump for ten seconds when he told her at a meeting that Maine may lose funding for not following his executive order regarding biological boys playing in girls sports.

For all sorts of reasons that we will get into at some point, Janet Mills is not your “folk hero”.

Troy Jackson though? I can’t think of a better folk hero than a logger stepping out from the woods, like Paul Bunyan with a plan, hoping to lead us all to a more promised land.

Give ‘em’ hell Troy.