AUGUSTA — Maine AllCare board of directors chair Dr. Julie Pease welcomed four new members at the organization’s first 2016 meeting, held Jan. 7 in Augusta at MaineGeneral Medical Center.
Among the new board members is Troy Jackson of Allagash, former Maine Senate majority leader and currently the Maine Democratic Party’s national committeeman.
A St. John Valley native, Jackson was raised and educated in Aroostook County, where he graduated from Allagash Consolidated School and the University of Maine at Fort Kent. He spent nearly 25 years as a heavy equipment operator in the logging industry, which is where he became involved in labor issues that eventually led him to run for the state Legislature.
Jackson was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2002 and went on to serve three terms in that body before being elected to the State Senate in 2008. In 2013, Jackson’s colleagues unanimously selected him to lead the Democratic caucus as majority leader. Due to a unique personal story and his experiences with the healthcare system he is a strong proponent of universal, single-payer healthcare.
When not on the road, he and his partner Lana, make their home in Allagash.
Jackson said, “I think that health care is a basic right that should not be held as a bargaining chip in people’s lives.”
Also named to the board of directors were: Patricia Carrick, a retired psychotherapist from Belfast; William A. (Bill) Wood, MD, a board certified otolaryngologist who practices in Bangor; and Marilyn McWilliams, who recently retired as group insurance broker after a career spanning over 40 years.
At its meeting, the board also agreed on a 2016 work plan that includes expanding its chapter network, holding speaking engagements in all 16 counties, participate in state and community fairs, engage the business community through screenings of FIX IT, a new documentary that reaches across the political and ideological divide to expand support for major health care reform that makes financial sense. Additionally, physician members of Maine AllCare will present medical grand rounds at hospitals and larger clinics around the state.
Maine AllCare is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to the goal of university, high-quality and affordable health care for the people of Maine. For information, visit maineallcare.org.
