The mayor of Portland just hopped into the proverbial political bed with a Democrat gubernatorial hopeful whose claim to fame is a questionable government-grifted home loan.
What was Mayor Mark Dion thinking when he endorsed Troy Jackson for the party’s top state office?
More to the point, what does Jackson envision as the benefit of a boost from the top elected official in Maine’s most radically-left community?
Dion’s political history managing statewide campaigns isn’t exactly anything one would describe as prosperous.
The former Portland cop, ex-Cumberland County sheriff and state senator ran a failed campaign for governor against the eventual victor – Janet Mills – eight years ago, finishing near the bottom of the pack in the primary.
So his Midas touch didn’t even get him through the preliminaries, let alone a shot at a general election.
In backing Jackson the mayor argued that if Democrats are going to move forward on substantive issues in the state, the party must be willing to “shake hands with itself.”
Problem is, the last time Jackson shook hands with any notice it was with a federal loan officer for what appears a criminal mortgage application.
Jackson during a recent candidates debate lashed out at “The Maine Liar” for its coverage of his apparent taxpayer fraud. (Federal loans are tax-based gifts.)
He had fun with his comedic reference to The Maine Wire, where Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson later pointed out who “The Maine Liar” really is.
“Troy Jackson admitted to violating the Federal Housing Administration loan agreement that he signed for a house in Augusta,” Robinson said, defending his outlet’s reporting.
“He lied about his primary residence so he could get a lower interest rate than an honest Mainer would have gotten,” Robinson added.
With that as a backdrop the question arises – what’s in this for Mark Dion?
After all, political endorsements, besides being meaningless to voters, represent a quid pro quo – meaning one thing in exchange for another of equal or greater value.
Dion is no fool so this endorsement charade obviously has nothing to do with his allegedly thinking Mr. Mortgage Grifter is the candidate du jour.
The mayor in this transparently political debit is settling a score with the mainstream Democrat party luminaries for leaving him at the gubernatorial altar eight years ago.
The cost of Dion’s decision to Maine’s largest city may not be measured until the governor’s general election later this year, when, if a Democrat wins, it won’t be the candidate he hopped into bed with.
A Democrat victor other than Mr. Loan Fraud will have taken notice of who Portland’s mayor was “shaking hands with” when the harvest was first being gathered.
Politicians have long memories…
