Jason Cherry

Office Sought: Governor

District: All

Towns Served: All

About Jason Cherry

Jason Cherry is a Maine attorney with a background in economics.  His practice includes areas of data privacy and the defense of indigent clients.  He is a former Special Agent of the FBI and worked there for 20 years before retiring in Bangor.  Jason investigated many crimes against children and worked to stop human trafficking. He also investigated abuses of political and policing powers. Prior to his retirement job in Maine, he worked at the FBI’s Operational Technology Division in Virginia, where he won the award for Best New Supervisor from the federal government.  Due to his continued success and reputation at resolving critical problems in a considerably stressful environment, Jason was quickly promoted to the Assistant Section Chief of the FBI.  His executive experience included extensive daily taskings and meetings, project management, the supervision of over 430 employees, oversight of over a $150 million dollar budget, and advanced technology development.  Jason received several awards from the FBI for his work as an investigator and supervisor.  Prior to his law enforcement career, Jason was a Public Defender who protected against the abuses of power and zealously represented his clients.  He was also a marine conservation officer and gained an understanding of the balance between sustainable harvests and the short-sighted exploitation of resources.  Jason’s background included a focus on international business and quantitative economics.   He is a resident of Unity, has two sons, two hard weather “Acadian” Chihuahuas, and a “County” girlfriend who cheats at cribbage (according to him).

Platform Issues:

• Modernize the Maine digital infrastructure to provide services to Maines in a more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective manner.
• Increase transparency of state services through an online portal and establish quarterly town halls to respond to group-ranked questions from registered voters in Maine.
• Ensure that all candidates for office answer mandatory and group-ranked questions from registered voters in Maine in the online portal every election year (no more hiding facts, capabilities, and intentions).
• Promote an energy grid that is answerable to Mainers and includes a goal of eliminating fossil fuels where feasible.
•  Increase housing units to all corners of Maine.
• Focus on promoting Maine businesses and entities to ensure “net profits” from our resources and people are re-invested within the state. 
• Support our Maine industries and recruit new industries and investment to the state to improve wages and prosperity.  
• Double-down on Maine’s reputation as a family-friendly vacation state by organizing its many festivals, celebrations, and sales at local businesses into an easy-to-access site for all visitors and residents (tentative title the Maine Moose App).
• Boost the STEM and reading skills in Maine’s PreK to 12th curriculums to include a considerable focus on civic-mindedness, critical thinking, and social media.  
• Establish greater trust, cultural connections, and joint-commercial ventures with the Wabanaki Alliance and state businesses.
• Encourage public debates on measures to prevent AI or other platforms from intentionally spreading misinformation and disinformation resulting in the overt abuse of the public trust.

Priorities in Office

• Economic recovery and return of Maine’s status as a friendly neighbor, premier family vacation stop, and respected business partner with Canada and the rest of the world.
• Establishment of the Maine tourism application to boost this industry and the Citizen’s Online Forum to increase “ownership of the government” for Mainers.
• Enact constitutional reform to “lead the nation by example” and return our State to the motto of “As Goes Maine – So Goes the Nation.”  Reforms would include term limits, age limits, parole reinstatement, legislative’s joint-selection of the “Chief Election Official” and follow the emerging trend to limit executive clemency powers by assigning this task to a committee appointed by members of the Legislative, Executive, and the Judiciary Branches.
• Direct a focus on the affordability crisis by increasing the number of available housing units;    investigate and respond to over pricing by monopolies and attract investment for healthcare services and reject any “feral” or unreasonable profiteering with a goal of phasing into universal healthcare.