Jackson doesn’t seek approval from group

To the editor:
 This morning, I was forwarded this e-mail regarding an organization endorsing my opponent in the Democratic primary for State Senate. Endorsements can be a powerful statement in any campaign. With some groups, I hope to get their endorsement; others I do not. This is certainly one organization from which I have never sought approval, and I never will. Still, I felt it was important to try and set the record straight on their propaganda.     The Alliance for Maine’s Future is a Republican organization that consistently endorses Republican candidates and a few token conservative Democrats. It would be like asking for an endorsement from Bush and Cheney. Not only do they only endorse on pro Republican legislation, they seem to omit anything that Democrats do for business. Not only does the fact that I am a labor Democrat assure that I will never receive their support, but the fact that their director, Anthony Payne, and I have somewhat of a rocky personal relationship is surely a factor in his endorsement of my opponent.
    During the first session of the 123rd Legislature, legislation regarding tax reform was coming up to the House floor for debate. At the time, I was in a hospital in Boston awaiting surgery. I received an e-mail from Mr. Payne that I felt was derogatory toward some organizations that differed in their views from his.    This is a direct quote from him: “The first tip is that this tax shift has the full backing of Maine’s welfare alliance — AARP, Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Children’s Alliance, Maine People’s Alliance, Maine Professional Firefighters and the Maine Center for Economic Policy — all organizations that are either advocates for more public spending or on the receiving end of our tax dollars.”
    I thought that it was unfair and degrading to call elderly people, women, and firefighters “welfare” people. It is as much their right to lobby in Augusta, whether on welfare or not, as Mr. Payne and his group. In somewhat of a momentary lapse, I sent an e-mail back to Mr. Payne stating that he and his cronies are part of the Dirtbag Alliance. My reference to his cronies was supposed to mean his staff, but he flipped the script and sent it out to his business members stating that I had voted for the legislation and was referring to all Maine business as dirtbags. Of course, I hadn’t meant Maine businesses and I was in Boston when the vote was taken which made it impossible to have voted for it. I still answered every e-mail I received from angry business owners, and tried to explain what exactly had happened.
    Since then, Mr. Payne has continued to attack me and others on a variety of issues. He refers to me in his press releases being anti-business for introducing legislation on energy drinks in the second session. He fails to mention how Republican Rep. Sykes introduced a bill to ban novelty lighters, and his hero Republican Minority leader Josh Tardy introduced a bill to allow Maine State Police to accept charitable donations. Both great bills, but hardly of an emergency nature and in the case of Rep. Sykes as much anti-business as my energy drink bill.
    More to the point, he refers to my my vote of a $55 million tax increase. This is the vote for funding Dirigo health insurance. I without a doubt did vote for this, and if I continue to serve in the Maine Legislature, I will always support trying to get affordable health insurance for the people in Maine. My own health issues have reaffirmed my commitment to that. I think differently from his statement that in this time of $4 a gallon fuel prices it is even more imperative to try anyway possible to help independent truckers keep their health care. He fails to mention how I never supported increased fees to registrations and licenses that most Republicans supported.
 I knew six months ago that my opponent had their support when he was telling people about my exchange with Mr. Payne. He really should be a Republican, but I am sure that he knows that this district will probably vote for a Democrat. He has taken money from Republicans for his own campaign and funneled money through the non-profit group, Friends of the Allagash, from large land forest owners for purposes that only he can explain. Most assuredly, it was not to lower fuel prices for Maine’s independent truckers.
    I think the most glaring part is that he has flat out refused to publicly debate me on my claims, and also allow me the chance to dispute his. I am sure that if you are unwilling to debate your opponent in front of the people of the district that you represent, than you have absolutely no business going to Augusta where a large part of your job is debating people.
Rep. Troy Jackson
(D-Allagash)