Members of MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 recommend Troy Jackson first and Shenna Bellows second in the June 9th ranked-choice primary election for governor

Citing his proven record of standing up for Maine’s working families and retired workers, the members of the Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union (MSEA-SEIU Local 1989) are recommending Troy Jackson as their first choice for governor in the June 9, 2026, primary election. Because this primary election will be decided by ranked-choice voting, the union members also are recommending Shenna Bellows as their second choice for governor.

“For the first time in the history of our union, MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 is making a ranked-choice endorsement for Governor in a primary election. We are ranking Troy Jackson first and we are asking every union member, every working family, and every Mainer to do the same on June 9th,” MSEA-SEIU President Mark Brunton of Lewiston said. “There is a reason the national labor movement is pointing to Troy Jackson as an example of the new kind of leader this country needs — a leader who came up through work, not wealth, a leader who will hold the political class accountable to the people they are supposed to serve. That is the kind of Governor Troy will be. As Governor, Troy Jackson will work to make Maine more affordable. He’ll fight for our schools, our environment and the right of every worker in this state to have a voice on the job. He will not cower to powerful interests. He never has. He is not about to start now.”

Continuing, Mark Brunton said, “Shenna Bellows is also a champion for MSEA and for Maine’s public service workers, and that’s why we are ranking her second. And our members chose to endorse her as our second-ranked candidate because of her tireless support for the people we represent. Shenna has a record. She has managed major state departments as Maine’s Secretary of State, and our member leaders who work for her — at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and at the Secretary of State’s office — speak glowingly of the respect and support she has shown them. They told us she listens. They told us she stands up for her people. They told us she treats the workers in her departments the way every manager in state government ought to treat them — as professionals, as neighbors, as human beings. That is not common. It matters.”

TROY JACKSON, FIRST CHOICE
“Troy Jackson is the real deal. As a MaineDOT worker for many years, I’ve worked with Troy fighting for fair wages and stronger retirement benefits for DOT workers, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with him to feed Maine families in need with Food AND Medicine’s Solidarity Harvest,” said MSEA-SEIU Member Brian Markey of Kenduskeag, who works as an assistant technician for the MaineDOT. “With him running for Governor, I am glad I unenrolled from the Republican Party so I can vote for Troy Jackson in the June 9th Primary as an Independent. I know he will be the strongest voice for Maine workers and our families as the next Governor in the Blaine House, and it’s up to us to help get him there.”

“For over20 years, Troy Jackson has consistently shown his willingness and ability to buck political parties and corporations to fight for Maine workers and their families,” said MSEA-SEIU Retiree Member J.B. Whipple of Scarborough, a former human services caseworker for the Maine Office of Child and Family Services, and the Maine Office of Aging and Disability Services, both within the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. “Troy Jackson has led the way in lowering the cost of prescription drugs. He has fought to reign in the high cost of utilities in Maine. He passed a law preventing the closure of Maine Veterans’ Homes in Caribou and Machias. He sponsored the legislation making sure every Maine student receives a free lunch so they can make the most of their education. He is determined to strengthen wages for all Maine workers and to fight for the rights of Maine families – and for tribal sovereignty. For all of these reasons, I’m putting my trust in Troy Jackson in voting to rank him first in the June 9^th primary election for governor.”

MSEA-SEIU Member Jonathan French of Hallowell, a transportation engineer with the Maine Department of Transportation, also spoke in support of the union ranking Troy Jackson first for governor.

“Troy Jackson understands the value of public service and the need for our state government to serve all Mainers, not just a few,” Jonathan French said. “He has seen that for far too many years, state government has been used to benefit monied interests. MaineDOT pays for-profit private contractors doing the same job as state employees for more than triple the costs. State employees have been paying more and more for health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses while the health care industry continues to benefit from LePage and Trump-era tax breaks.”

Continuing, Jonathan French said, “Troy Jackson also knows that Maine has had to expand social safety nets because Maine workers haven’t been getting paid fairly and that more must be done to protect Maine’s working families from getting ripped off from all the high gas prices, housing costs, healthcare costs and utility bills. As someone who has served in the Legislature for 20 years and who has stood by Maine’s working families at every instance, Troy has shown that he will be the governor who will return the value of quality public service to state government so that it can serve all working people and retirees, and not just be a means to an end for private-sector profits. Join me in voting to rank Troy first on June 9th.”

“I’ve seen firsthand what MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 members do for the people of this state — the people I was entrusted to represent — for the better part of the last two decades. They keep our government functioning, carry out our laws, and ensure children, families, seniors and small businesses can access resources and support,” Troy Jackson said. “So it is a true honor to have earned their number one endorsement in the race for Maine Governor.”

SHENNA BELLOWS, SECOND CHOICE
This is the first primary election in which MSEA-SEIU members made a ranked-choice endorsement for governor. Shenna Bellows, Maine’s current secretary of state and a former state senator, has proven herself as an advocate for Maine’s working families and retirees.

“I have gotten to know Shenna Bellows closely over the years, not just through my advocacy as a union leader, but also through my work at the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. If there’s one way I could sum up my experiences with Shenna Bellows, it would be ‘promises made, promises kept,’” said MSEA-SEIU Member Ramona Welton, chair of the union’s PASER (Political Action by Service Employees and Retirees) Committee and a retired process auditor with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles within the Maine Department of Secretary of State. “When Shenna Bellows promises to work with people or bring something forth, she does that – she did it as a state senator; she does it every day as our secretary of state, a constitutional office.”

Continuing, Ramona Welton added, “Shenna Bellows remembers where she came from – Hancock, Maine. She knows the struggles of Maine workers because she has lived them. Whenever her constituents, whether MSEA members or others, approach her on an issue, she relates on the level of serving the citizens of Maine. And while we sometimes can agree to disagree, we always know we are heard with Shenna Bellows. That’s the kind of character that Maine people deserve in their next governor.”

“I’m proud to be endorsed by the state employees’ union,” Shenna Bellows said. “Maine state employees work hard to serve the people of Maine, and I’ve been proud to support them as their State Senator and Labor and Housing chair and currently as Secretary of State. I’ll be a Labor Governor who will fight for the rights of every worker and who will work hard to make Maine state government a great place to work for all.”

MSEA-SEIU LOCAL 1989’S ENDORSEMENT PROCESS
MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 has a rigorous member-driven endorsement process led by a member committee; it began last year with a candidate forum for their members, included interviews and reviews of candidate policy positions and records, and culminated in a recommendation that was adopted by their member leaders on their board of directors. The members involved in this process included workers of all political affiliations, from all over Maine, who work in a variety of jobs across many bargaining units.

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The Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, represents over 13,000 Maine workers, including workers in all three branches of Maine State Government, municipal and county government, and nonprofit agencies.