Blue Anchor Project Endorsement Questionnaire - Jordan Wood

(Candidate responses are in white and italicized)

1. Healthcare

Recognizing that healthcare continues to be among the most pressing issues for American families, will you commit to supporting single-payer legislation that brings down costs, separates healthcare from employment, roots out waste and fraud, and ensures everyone has access to quality care?

I support eventually getting to a single payer style healthcare system. As a first step, I support inclusion of a public option, as the Affordable Care Act was designed to have. I do not support banning the use of private insurance  as some models of health care legislation have proposed.

2. Housing

The current housing crisis is impacting both renters and first-time homebuyers. What is your strategy for using federal policy to address housing affordability in your district? Please detail how you would balance the need for new housing construction with the need to protect communities from exploitative corporate landlords and short-term rental services.

I support a significant increase in funding for affordable housing. Additionally, states should be encouraged to restrict corporate ownership of manufactured home communities and to restrict short-term rentals where it is directly converting workforce housing to short term rentals. Restrictions on HUD and other programs that hinder the creation of affordable housing should be eliminated. 

3. Education

From public schools to higher education, our education system is struggling to meet the needs of all students. How would you work to ensure that every public school is fully funded and that all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background, have access to a quality education? What is your plan to address the student debt crisis, and how would you ensure that a college education remains an affordable and viable path for future generations?

While public education is primarily a state and local issue, the federal government can play a role in funding new schools in underserved communities as well as providing support to teachers. College needs to remain an affordable path for those who choose to attend college. It is critical that in addition to two and four year college degrees being supported, we provide resources for certificates, and apprenticeships. Student debt is a symptom of the problem of overly expensive college educations - we must reduce costs for public colleges and universities, and I support forgiveness for applicants within incoming limitations upto $20,000, similar to the program proposed by President Joe Biden in 2022. 

4. Jobs

As our economy continues to transition, what is your plan to create good paying, sustainable jobs in your district? How will you use your position in Congress to support the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and what is your position on policies that would strengthen labor protections and fair wages?

I support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, and will publicly and loudly support striking workers, unionization efforts, and other actions by organized and organizing labor. The first step in creating wellpaying jobs is ensuring that those that are already here are protected, this includes Maine’s heritage industries of fishing, logging, papermaking, and agriculture. In addition, we must find ways to encourage the next generation of industries to choose Maine. We can accomplish this by dedicating the resources needed to build out fiber optic internet connections across the state, EV charging infrastructure in the rural communities, and investments in clean energy to bring down electric rates.

5. Party Accountability & Democratic Integrity

A growing number of voters feel the Democratic Party has become disconnected from their concerns, and that democracy itself is under threat from within. How do you plan to rebuild trust in the party’s ability to deliver for working people, stand up to authoritarianism, and protect democratic institutions? What legislative and political actions will you champion to safeguard voting rights, end dark money, and ensure a government accountable to the people?

The first step to rebuilding trust is showing up. I have already held 10 town halls in different counties across the state, both conservative communities and progressive ones. Meeting people where they live, work and recreate are all important ways of re-engaging with voters that the Democratic party as a whole has failed to do. I will show up to support Democrats all across the state, those running for municipal office and those running for state office. I will continually connect with voters not only as a candidate but also as a US Senator. My career has been dedicated to protecting democracy from those who would subvert it, and as a US Senator one of my first priorities will be to push for the passage of the For the People Act, which passed the House twice before. The bill would establish independent redistricting across every state, improve access to the polls by making registration and absentee voting streamlined and universal, and address campaign finance reform. I will support a constitutional amendment overturning the poorly decided Citizens United ruling. 

6. Public Accountability

Do you commit to prioritizing the concerns of your constituents over corporate lobbyists and to holding at minimum two in-person town halls or public forums per year to maintain direct accountability to the people you represent? (Yes/No)

Yes, I commit to holding at least one in person town halls each year in each of Maine’s 16 counties.

7. Perspective

Tell us about a moment, personal or professional, when you changed your mind about something important. What did you learn from that experience, and how does it inform the way you would serve in office?
On January 6th, 2021 I was working on capitol hill for the certification of the presidential election while I served as Chief of Staff for Rep. Katie Porter. The insurrection and assault on our capitol and republic was a stark and defining moment in my life and for our country. During that experience, and in the weeks that followed, I came to the realization that the institutions and bedrock that our democratic republic relies upon requires a coalition of people regardless of party that will support protecting our system of government. I used this to launch democracyFIRST to work with people with whom I disagree on other policy areas to elect people who certify elections that believe in the tenets of a fair democratic system. This has influenced how I will work with people on those issues where there is common ground, and with whom I may vehemently oppose on another issue.