PRESS RELEASE
“Families for Troy” Highlights Jackson’s Record Delivering For Maine Families
PORTLAND, ME — Fifth-generation logger, former Maine Senate President, and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Troy Jackson launched his new coalition, Families for Troy, yesterday alongside parents, kids, and teachers. The coalition highlights his long record of delivering for families in Maine with universal school meals, paid family leave, and lowering the cost of childcare and his commitment to fighting for working families in Washington.
See what folks are saying about it:
WGME (CBS Portland): Troy Jackson launches new 'Families for Troy' coalition
On Sunday, Democratic candidate Troy Jackson launched a new coalition called Families for Troy. Jackson met with parents, guardians, and kids in Portland for the weekend launch.
Jackson read, played, and painted with kids, and highlighted his support for securing universal school meals and lowering child care costs.
"For some reason, a lot of the people in the federal government think tax cuts for wealthy people are more important. So even though we made universal meals free, they cut SNAP benefits, they cut a bunch of other things. And it's actually going to lower the costs of money that's coming to Maine, So if we want to keep universal free meals, people in communities like this are going to have to pay more in property taxes," Jackson said.
Jackson met with children and parents in Portland on Sunday, painting and reading with kids while talking with families about the financial pressures they face.
Gabriel Adleman, a parent at the event, said childcare is one of several expenses stretching his and other families' budgets. "There's so many things you have to balance," Adleman said. "Everything costs a lot these days, whether it be childcare, or just having to balance that with getting food on the table."
Adleman pointed to Maine's universal free school meals program as an example of a policy that has helped families. Jackson sponsored legislation while serving as Maine Senate president that helped establish free school breakfast and lunch for students statewide. The initiative received bipartisan support in the Legislature.
"Knowing that there's a breakfast waiting for them, it makes it so much easier to feel comfortable knowing that your kids not going to be hungry, that they're going to focus during their school day," Adleman said, "And knowing there's a lunch there waiting for them too is massive."
Jackson argued the federal government could devote more resources to childcare by changing other spending and tax priorities. "If you don't pump $70 billion in rogue agency like ICE, if you don't fund foreign wars, fund bombs going to Israel, if you don't give tax cuts to wealthy people, I think you have the resources to do childcare," Jackson said.
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