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Cathy Breen is a former state senator, who represented Falmouth, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Gray, Long Island, Chebeague Island and part of Westbrook. Rebecca Millett is a former state representative and former state senator, representing South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and parts of Scarborough.
If you really want to get to know a person, the last two months of a U.S. Senate race of national significance might not be the best time.
Between the media back and forth and the relentless barrage of negative — and misleading — ads, it can be hard to find the truth.
We both served side by side with Troy Jackson in the Maine Senate. And we couldn’t be more excited about him representing us in the U.S. Senate.
Mainers know Jackson’s working-class story and his passion for taking on the billionaires. But we want Mainers to know that Jackson also led the effort to elect more women to the Maine Senate than at any time in Maine history.
As a result, women like us chaired the most powerful committees in Augusta since Democrats won the senate majority in 2018 — Appropriations, Judiciary, Education, and Environment and Natural Resources.
With Jackson’s leadership and strategic smarts, we have programs that make a real difference in the lives of women, children, and all of Maine’s families.
During COVID, Jackson saw that families in his community were leaving coolers out by the road so that bus drivers could drop off school lunches for their kids. People were struggling and kids were having a hard time getting enough to eat.
Jackson rallied Republicans and Democrats to pass universal free meals for all Maine public school students. Kids can’t learn if they’re hungry, and Jackson recognized more quickly than many that providing universal meals would ensure that kids in Maine — no matter where they live — can get at least one healthy, nutritious meal a day.
He worked hard for paid family and medical leave to make sure families can take the time they need to be with a sick child or an aging parent, can have a baby, can recover from an injury or illness without losing a paycheck.
When moms and dads came to the State House looking for help, Jackson was there. He worked to make childcare more affordable, he stood up to corporations who were trying to weaken child labor laws while investing in apprenticeship programs.
After Sen. Susan Collins’ pivotal support of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back constitutional protections for abortion care, Jackson led the effort to strengthen Maine’s protection for women.
While Republicans in Washington have been taking rights away and making life harder for Maine families, Jackson was fighting to protect our state and the people who live and work here.
There’s a lot more: Maine leads the nation in addressing climate change and dealing with the scourge of PFAS in our soils. We conserved thousands of acres of land and working water fronts through the Land for Maine’s Future program.
He helped to create a retirement savings program for workers whose employers don’t offer such plans.
And because of Jackson’s belief in science, Maine maintains a high rate of vaccination against childhood diseases such as measles.
In short, Troy Jackson invested in women leaders and championed issues that matter most to us.
And when tensions arose in Augusta, as they always do, Jackson had our backs.
Jackson is much more than a working-class hero from The County. He is kind and funny. He cares about people and works for us every day. He’s one of the most savvy, tenacious and accomplished legislators we’ve known, and he would serve us well in the U.S. Senate.