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 ...

currently serving as president of the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constituti ...

. Jackson represents Maine Senate District 1, representing northern Aroostook County, including the towns of Fort Kent, Madawaska and Caribou. 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, 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 The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

in the event of a vacancy.

Career

Jackson first ran for the Maine House of Representatives 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. On July 1, 2013, following incumbent Democratic Congressman

Mike Michaud Michael Herman Michaud (born January 18, 1955) is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprises ...

'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, Maine, Portland an ...

, 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: Kiri ...

, Jackson was a prominent supporter of U.S. Senator 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'

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

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 Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

on July 6, 2015. During the 2020 presidential election, 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 Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

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 Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 74th Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, LePage served two terms as a city councilor in Waterville, Maine, before being ...

. 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 Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by transnational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soa ...

", 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 w ...

.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