This election season we have had the great opportunity to highlight so many candidates who are running at the local level! Today we are profiling one such candidate, Jessica Jackson (she/her/hers), a queer mental health therapist and mother of two who also raises chickens and ducks on her property. She has worked hard to prioritize education, going from a GED to a master’s degree in social work. Jessica writes all of her own stump speeches, and she is passionate about reproductive rights, gender affirming care for trans individuals, the environment, and rural communities.

Where are you based?
I currently reside in Southwest, MI in Berrien County. I am at the bottom of the mit, and have been told that I am more very much a Hoosier/Michigander. I was raised in Gary, Indiana, spent much of my life in Indiana, so this does make sense to me.

What is your position/what position are you running for?
I am running for Berrien County Clerk.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
I truly just want to meet people where they are by advocating for the changes that they want to see in the clerk’s office. Some of those changes are raises for the clerks, who haven’t seen an increase in some time, and do not even make enough to support their families. The work of these clerks is vital to our community and the very least we can do is to compensate them for that, and thus keep them in our community.

I stand firm on ensuring that the access to vote is not blocked by misinformation, too few polling locations, or due to a lack of resources. There is a need for more poll workers, truly everywhere you go, so building that up through outreach is essential. Once we have volunteers it is then so very important to train them adequately, and compassionately. This means hearing what we are not doing correctly and using a lean approach to correct those issues.

Lastly so many people do not even understand what the clerk does for them, and I want to meet this head on. I would plan on partnering with local libraries to spotlight what a clerk does, a commissioner, and even a major because in this way what we are doing is two fold. We are educating the public on what elected officials do for them, and also creating future leaders who will then step into those roles in the future.

What inspired you to run?
I was inspired to run when Indiana SB480 which is a ban on gender affirming care for any state resident under the age of 18 and is punishable by up to a felony. There is also a cause for aiding and abetting, by medical professionals, over state lines. I am a mental health therapist who sees clients who just so happen to be exploring their gender identity. Sometimes I am the last stop before they give up entirely, and I am entrusted to provide a safe space for them. Gender confirming care is not just HRT, or surgery which it rarely is for a minor, but also conversations about binders, and life saving resources to local LGBTQ Centers. So basically the government in Indiana is once again using fear tactics to create a deadly environment for a group of people. Trans humans just want to exist without being told they are evil, grooming someone, or that something is inherently wrong with them. I wanted to create a safe place that goes with me, wherever I find myself, to remind LGTBQ folks that I see them, and will stand in front of them. I also wanted to advocate on their behalf outside of the therapy office and take a stand against the trans genocide that is being perpetrated across our country.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
In my county I want to set an example of standing up in the face of division and reminding all people of what connects us-love/humanness. I may be running as a Democrat, but I am just Jessica. I am tired of the division that is being sewn by politicians, and want to remind people that united we should stand. In my country I want to bring that same change, it is our differences that make us a melting pot and that create this tapestry we are a part of. No longer should we allow ourselves to be led by fear, but by love, and the courage to always do what is ethical.

What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
My major accomplishments are that I went from a 9th grade education to being a fully licensed therapist. I caught the bus daily to get to my local GED Center so that I could study for my test and continued on all the way to my masters. I was determined because a long time ago I had two friends who taught me that we must be the change we want to see. For me that change was changing the world perspective of others through my education, and my fuel was my love for those friends who tragically died in 2009. So I’ve done that, I am doing that, and I will continue to do that thanks to them.

With Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer © Vote Jessica Jackson

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
I think that the most important issues are everything honesty and it is this overwhelming sense that is the first issue. We must look at what is not working and remind ourselves of Johh F. Kennedy’s democratic nomination speech. To sum it all up he said that the old ways would not do, and he was speaking about a new era for America. I think its time for that new era, no more sewing division by republican vs democrat. No more misinformation about the weather, or voting but sticking to what science says, and what people who are being impacted are saying. We need to get back to the truth and no longer live in lies. To sum it all up lies are diving us, and the truth will set us free.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
Just as I have said all above, I plan on building bridges of communication across my community. I will do this by meeting people where they are, hearing them out, and not ever calling people less than for the letter that vote under. I will do this with my words, and my actions because I do see that people are tired of the lip service. My message is I hear you, I see you, I will be there for you, by being a servant leader.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
I do so happen to identify as queer but that does not define me only, yet it shows others that I can understand so many of the same things that other queer people go through. I also grew up in a home that had a very low income, I am talking a waiting in line for cheese income, and we struggled for all that we had. I have been on that side, watched a once great city die, and I know what it’s like to be associated with that. I have faced tragedy, in so many forms, and yet I am here to use what I learned to assist others. I am not a great therapist because I am a therapist, but because I know what its like to sit on that couch filled with so much fear. I have a real sense in connecting with others on a level that I can not even explain in words. It is like a sacred place where I see them, and I remind them of their greatness. These are just small parts of me that make me, me.

What is your motto in life?
I have so many, but the only thing that drives me is truly being the change I want to see in the world. My loss, Amy B, and Steve, those two friends I mentioned, they lived by this motto though and through. This is something that truly is on my heart aways, to just simply make someone’s day better by being kind. I also live by you are made of the stars, because we are, and I like to remind others of this fact because very often we forget how amazing we are.

Where can we find out more about you?
I have a Facebook page as Jessica Jackson, and I am very active on TikTok as gojessgo.You can also find all about me using Google as I am endorsed by Run for Something, the Rural Michigan Caucus, and Equality Michigan among others. On each of these sights I have bios that go over other facts about me.

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2024 - Jessica Jackson, County Clerk of Berrien County, Michigan