Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / ‘Worst it ever been’ Maine Senate Nominee Troy Jackson on soaring energy costs

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‘Worst it ever been’ Maine Senate Nominee Troy Jackson on soaring energy costs · THE DAILY BRIEF

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me now is Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Connect, sir.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much for having me, Jacob. I appreciate it.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: The exchange with Senator Collins was heated, no pun intended.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: And you guys were talking about heating bills. Winter is approaching.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: The temperatures are now dipping into the 30s. I bet
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  Speaker 1: even colder maybe in the far northern reaches of Maine.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: You got a new ad out. But I'm fascinated by
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: this because it's a twist. It's almost like a public
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: service announcement about heating costs. I want to show a
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  Speaker 1: little bit of it to our viewers.
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  Speaker 2: There's a lot of ads telling you how to vote
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  Speaker 2: in November. This isn't one of them. With the war
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  Speaker 2: in Iran driving up energy costs, it's going to be
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  Speaker 2: a hard winter for a lot of us. But no
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  Speaker 2: one has to face it alone. There are free wood banks,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: assistant programs for overdue bills, and energy relief. So please,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: if you're worried about staying warm this winter, go to jacksonformaine.com
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: backslash heat. We've got a list of resources there to
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  Speaker 2: point you in the right direction. So stay safe. I'm
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Troy Jackson, and I approve this message.
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  Speaker 1: That's I think that's pretty novel. You're putting out a
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: direct aid resource rather than a standard campaign ad at
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  Speaker 1: the end of this high stakes race. What was the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: thought there?
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Well, it's a lifetime of thought, Jacob. I mean, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I remember what it was like. I mean, I'm worried
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  Speaker 2: about how we're going to be able to heat our home. But,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I remember what it was like worrying about
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  Speaker 2: the oil furnace shutting off in the middle of the night.
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  Speaker 2: I remember what it was like worrying about pipes freezing. And,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and I care about people here in Maine.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's been my whole time in the Maine
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: legislature is trying to do something to help people. And
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  Speaker 2: right now it's the worst it's ever been. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I do not know how people are going to heat
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  Speaker 2: their homes this winter. I mean, an 80% increase in
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: heating oils from last year. We've had tough times before,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: but we've never done anything like this. And so I really,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I really wanted to make sure that people
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  Speaker 2: knew that there were some services out there. It's not enough,
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  Speaker 2: but they should know where they are and they should
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: be not worried about being too proud to ask for them.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: You have another pair of debates with Senator Collins this week.
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  Speaker 1: Is there anything that you feel like is left unsaid
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  Speaker 1: at this point? What are you going to do to
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  Speaker 1: reach the remaining undecided voters?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I think the only thing that you
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  Speaker 2: can do is try and be honest and sincere about
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  Speaker 2: what this race is about. I'm not going to stand
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  Speaker 2: with any president, any president that's going to do what
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  Speaker 2: Donald Trump is doing to this country. I mean, the
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  Speaker 2: Iran war is... I'm just making it hard for people
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  Speaker 2: to heat their homes, but we have so many businesses
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  Speaker 2: here in Maine that depend on diesel fuel and things
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  Speaker 2: like that, and they won't be able to continue. And
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  Speaker 2: I just want people to know that I do care
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  Speaker 2: about these things. I don't care about Democrats or Republicans.
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  Speaker 2: What I care about is Mainers that can't make a living,
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  Speaker 2: can't feed their family, can't heat their home. That's who
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  Speaker 2: I'm fighting for. That's who I've always fought for because
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  Speaker 2: I'm one of them, and I just get it.
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  Speaker 1: Your neighbor from Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders, is out there
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  Speaker 1: campaigning for you this weekend. And Republicans are inevitably, excuse me,
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  Speaker 1: going to try to paint you as, you know, a
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  Speaker 1: fellow comrade, fellow traveler with far left radicals. You're going
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: to be a Democratic socialist. You're Karl Marx reincarnated. But
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: just like Bernie. your background is deeply rooted in labor
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: unions and the working class. How do you and Senator
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Sanders together plan to cut through that messaging in Maine?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I think in the end, people want
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  Speaker 2: somebody to stand up for them and fight for them
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  Speaker 2: on economics. And that's what I've always done. I've always
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: stood with people that were going up against big corporations.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I've been at, you know, so many strikes. So,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, in fact, that's how I got started. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: my dad took me to a strike when I was
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: in the seventh grade, first billionaire I ever met. And
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: ever since then, I've understood that the power and corruption
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: or money influence holds people back and they want to
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  Speaker 2: make us feel like we're powerless. But when we come together,
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  Speaker 2: we have a lot of power. And it doesn't matter
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  Speaker 2: if you're, again, if you're a Republican or Democrats, it's
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  Speaker 2: if you're a Mainer or if you're somebody in the
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  Speaker 2: United States that needs you know, that solidarity of standing
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: with people. So, I mean, you know, I don't agree
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: with everything Senator Sanders, but I agree that he is
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: very honest and sincere. And that's what I like in people.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he's very outspoken about what he believes in.
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  Speaker 2: I am too. And, you know, I'm happy to work
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  Speaker 2: with him on Medicare for all. I'm happy to work
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  Speaker 2: with him on increasing union rights, going after, you know,
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  Speaker 2: people like Elon Musk that want to completely, you know,
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  Speaker 2: own this economy and, And that's just not who I am.
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  Speaker 2: And so I feel very good about campaigning with Senator Sanders.
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  Speaker 2: Anyone that's going to help me make people's lives here
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  Speaker 2: in Maine better, I'm happy to work with.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Troy Jackson, Maine's Democratic nominee for the U.S.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Senate.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you again for coming back to Connect.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, Jackson for Maine.com. Thank you very much.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: You got it.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Or just click below.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks.