Government land-grab agenda hits key Senate race as Dem backs property takeovers echoing Mamdani

Graham Platners replacement in the Maine Senate race suggested the government should be able to take over private property when necessary, appearing to echo socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdanis housing agenda.

Troy Jackson, a Democrat running for the Senate, came under fire for suggesting the government should be able to take over private property when necessary. The comments drew fresh scrutiny to a candidate the Pine Tree States GOP chair previously , as debates over government intervention in housing and private ownership gain new attention.

"Its a major issue. The greed that's happening right now in this country that people in mobile home parks are feeling is like something I've never seen," Jackson told a small crowd of residents at Blueberry Ridge Mobile Village, one of several Maine trailer parks where concerns about costs, quality-of-life and ownership arose.

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"The other thing that I do hear a lot about, too, is how [landlords] won't do anything for services. And that is completely unfair and not right. And we have to make that change. I feel strongly that if needed, the state should be able to come in [and] take these places over. Some people will say that that's insane," Jackson told the residents in Wells, the town next to the politically-notable Kennebunkport.

"But until the people get the chance to start a co-op or whatever, there should be a way to hold these, so that you don't see private-equity coming in and making the killing on these parks."

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During his visit, Jackson held up a mason jar of brown water a resident said came from their tap.

Jackson said some residents saw their lot rental fees approach $850, adding he once lived at a mobile home park in Aroostook County and understands their plight.

"Im going to add my voice to that every damn day," he said. "I just can't imagine owning a home and feeling the threat that you do daily and getting the squeeze and not being able to afford that."

Jacksons proposal echoes one of the more aggressive elements of Mamdanis housing agenda: a willingness to use government power to wrest control of troubled properties away from private owners and toward tenants, nonprofits or community stewardship.

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Like Mamdani, Jackson was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in his prior unsuccessful gubernatorial primary bid earlier this year.

Mamdanis Block by Block housing plan, released in May, calls for aggressive legal action against negligent landlords and says chronically neglected properties could be transferred to

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