Thom Jackson is Janice's running mate for the NJ Assembly. In New Jersey, you have 2 candidates run for Assembly on each side and the top two vote receiving candidates are elected to office. Thomas Matthew Jackson was born in the historic town of Hamilton, Ohio on February 14, 1960. Growing up in the Midwest on the fringes of Cincinnati enabled Thom to have the best of both worlds: a tight-knit community with strong ties to the land and the culture and dynamics of a growing city that was a transportation hub along the Mississippi.

Thom describes his neighbors as being middle class on a good day, and describes his own family as aspiring to be middle class on any day. “Everyone was hard-working, attended church regularly, believed in the inherent goodness of humankind, and wanted the American Dream of home ownership.” Thom’s mother instilled in him and his 4 siblings the principles of self-reliance and community service by telling them that “There is no such thing as raising yourself by your own boot straps. Someone had to make the boots, and someone else probably made the straps.”

Education
Thom was taught early-on to view education as an enabler; armed with his mothers words of wisdom, a scholarship, and two jobs, Thom graduated DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He was then accepted to the prestigious University of Cincinnati College of Law, at which point he met his wife Alison. Additionally, Thom studied urban planning in England, Holland, and the former Yugoslavia.

Building Coalitions and Tackling Tough Issues
After law school, Thom moved to Chicago and served on the Board of the Rogers Park Tenants’ Committee. During his tenure on the Board, Thom helped build a coalition of community and business organizations to convince the City Council to adopt a Tenants’ Bill of Rights. Thom also helped form the Lead Elimination Action Draive (LEAD), a coalition of community groups that convinced landlords to test their buildings for lead paint and to provide medical care for the children suffering from the effects of eating lead paint.

Thom also took part in the Howard-Paulina Development Corporation, facilitating town hall meetings between government, businesses, and community organizations to reach a consensus on neighborhood economic development plans. Such plans included converting a transit station into a mixed use commercial facility, creating both jobs and business opportunities for local residents.

Moving to Morris County did not bring with it the cessation of Thom’s community involvement; on the contrary, he has continued to give back to the community and build coalitions. Thom has served on the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Morris County , the Board of Directors for the Morris County United Way, the Board of Trustees of Calvary Baptist Church, and is currently an active volunteer and Board Member of the Children’s Emergency Medical Fund of New Jersey.

In 2004, Thom took charge to build a coalition when a local business owner tried to open a liquor store across the street from a church. Thom reached out to both the business owner and to angry members of the community to reach a compromise. The business owner now operates a successful convenience store which the community is willing to support.

While Thom realizes that not every battle in Trenton will have such a storybook ending, his ability to build coalitions between people with opposing viewpoints will be invaluable in helping to break the gridlock between Trenton and creating the healthy public-private partnerships that we need.

Budget Advisory Panel
In December of 2004, Thom was appointed by Acting Governor Richard Codey to serve on a three-member Budget Advisory Panel. The panel was created to provide commercial, business-oriented solutions to help close New Jersey’s $5-billion budget deficit. The panel worked with ideas and concerns from opposing groups, such as Democrats and Republicans and Business and Labor. This experience helped Thom to see the corruption and misuse of funds within the state budget, and the panel’s recommendations to Codey helped close the budget gap.

Profession
Thom has spent over 20 years in the insurance industry, including the handling of fraud for MetLife and Prudential Financial Services. He was also most recently the Chief Legal Counsel for the second largest global insurance claims adjusting company. Additionally, Thom authored the memorandum which, in 1985, led to the creation of a federal task force that eliminated an estimated $10 billion of fraud in the Medicare system.

Why the “h” in Thom?
Thom is often asked why he spells his name with an H. The additional letter is his personal tribute to his mother, Rae Jackson, who always called him “Thomas” and who died of cancer when she was 38 years old. Thom often refers to his mother as his “favorite Republican.” She was his best friend, his most ardent critic, and his strongest supporter. He began spelling his name “Thom” in 1980, shortly before his mother’s death, so that he would never forget her strength, her love, and her impact on his life.