Troy Dale Jackson (born June 26, 1968) is an American logger and politician from Allagash,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

currently serving as president of the Maine Senate. Jackson represents Maine Senate District 1, representing northern

Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. Kn ...

, including the towns of Fort Kent, Madawaska and

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

. Jackson has served as Senate President since 2018. Jackson started in politics during the 1998 logging blockade along the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

border, protesting the illegal hiring of Canadian workers over Maine loggers, inadequate wages and poor working conditions. Eventually, Jackson was elected to 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 ...

, where he served three terms before being elected to the Maine Senate in 2008. After Democrats gained the majority in the 2018 election, Jackson was chosen to be Senate President. He has also served as Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader and now Senate President. As Senate President, he is first in line to be Governor of Maine in the event of a vacancy.

Career

Jackson first ran for the

in 2000 for Maine House District 151, as a Republican, and lost to Marc E. Michaud, Democrat. He was elected to House 151 in 2002 as an Independent, defeating incumbent Michaud. in 2004, after Maine's post census legislative redistricting, Jackson won a resounding reelection for House District 1, against Paul Berube, by a margin of 3,486 to 1,248 In 2008 Jackson ran and won Maine State Senate District 35. In December 2012, Jackson was elected Assistant Majority Leader of the State Senate after the Democrats regained control of the body. On July 10, 2013, Jackson was elected Majority Leader of the Maine Senate after the resignation of fellow Democrat

Seth Goodall Seth A. Goodall is an American politician and lawyer. Goodall served as a Democratic State Senator from Maine's 19th District, representing part of Sagadahoc County, including the population centers of Bath and Topsham from December 2008 unt ...

. On July 1, 2013, following incumbent Democratic Congressman Mike Michaud's decision to explore running for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Jackson announced he would run for

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metro ...

, which had been Michaud's seat since 2003. On June 10, 2014, Jackson lost the primary to fellow State Senator

Emily Cain Emily Ann Cain (born March 29, 1980) is an American politician from Maine and Executive Director of EMILY's List. A member of the Democratic Party, Cain served in the Maine Senate from 2012 to 2014, representing the 30th district which includes p ...

. On January 25, 2015, Jackson was elected as a member of the Democratic National Committee. In November 2016, Jackson was re-elected to the Senate and a week later he was chosen by his fellow Democrats to be the Senate Minority Leader. During the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kirib ...

, Jackson was a prominent supporter of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

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 ...

' campaign and cast his superdelegate vote for him at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. He was chosen to introduce Sanders at a campaign rally before 8,000 supporters in Portland, Maine on July 6, 2015. During the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, Jackson again supported Sanders, and again addressed a Portland rally for Sanders on September 1, 2019. After the primaries, Jackson threw his support behind Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris.

Politics

He is an advocate for health care and

workers rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influe ...

, especially for fellow loggers. In 2010, Jackson wrote a bill which would have "prohibited the Maine Department of Conservation from employing foreign laborers at state-owned logging sites". It passed both the House of Representatives and the State Senate before being vetoed by Governor Paul LePage. LePage questioned the bill's constitutionality while Jackson said that LePage was favoring large Canadian logging corporations over American workers.LePages comments on logging stir debate in The County
''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig and ...

'', August 26, 2011 In June 2013, Jackson called LePage "obstructionist" and "delusional" regarding discussions about the 2013-2014 state budget. LePage responded by saying that Jackson "claims to be for the people but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline", as well as saying Jackson had a "black heart".

Personal

Jackson attended Allagash Consolidated Community High School before obtaining an A.A. in business from the

University of Maine at Fort Kent The University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMaine Fort Kent or UMFK) (French language, French: ''Université du Maine à Fort Kent)'' is a public college in Fort Kent, Maine. It is the northernmost campus of the University of Maine System. It is an a ...

. He lives in

Allagash, Maine Allagash is a town in Aroostook County, Maine. It is on the Allagash River in the North Maine Woods region. The population was 237 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of wh ...

.Biography
Maine Senate

References

External links

Campaign website

Legislative website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Troy Dale 1968 births 21st-century American politicians American loggers Living people Maine Democrats Maine Republicans Maine Independents Majority leaders of the Maine Senate Members of the Maine House of Representatives Minority leaders of the Maine Senate People from Aroostook County, Maine Presidents of the Maine Senate University of Maine at Fort Kent alumni