John McKinney To Run

For 7th State Senate Term

On April 20, John McKinney announced his candidacy for reelection to the State Senate, promising an agenda that will continue to focus on job creation and fiscal responsibility. Sen McKinney, who represents Newtown, Easton, Fairfield, and Weston in the 28th State Senatorial District, has served as the highest ranking Republican in the Senate since being elected Minority Leader in 2007.

He is the ranking senator on the legislature’s Environment, Legislative Management, and Executive Nominations Committees.

“I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to serve the people of Connecticut at a time when our state and nation have faced unprecedented challenges, and I want to continue to play a leadership role in the Senate as we work to address our budget crisis, help businesses create jobs and get our economy moving again,” said Sen McKinney, who has led Republican legislators in introducing balanced budget proposals without tax increases in each of the past four years.

Each of the proposals, including the “Common Sense Budget” he offered April 16, aims to make Connecticut a more business-friendly state, while streamlining the delivery of state services and vastly reducing the size and cost of government.

“Families and businesses all across Connecticut expect state government to do what they have done to survive the recession. That means reexamining spending habits, learning to do more with less, and living within our means,” said Sen McKinney.

In addition to his leadership on state budget issues, McKinney’s legislative accomplishments include increasing funding for open space and farmland preservation, and passing landmark environmental legislation to reduce carbon emissions, conserve energy, improve air quality, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

He was instrumental in passing major transportation initiatives to improve I-95, help ease congestion and make the state’s highways safer. And he led efforts to establish tough mandatory jail sentences for child sex offenders and predators who attempt to use the Internet to harm children.

Sen McKinney is actively involved in several local nonprofit organizations. In addition to his role on the Board of Trustees of the Westport/Weston Familyf YMCA, he serves on the Board of Directors of Operation Hope, a homeless shelter in Fairfield. He is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Women and Families in Bridgeport and a past member of the vestry of Trinity Church in Southport.

He and his family help provide housing and care for people with AIDS through the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation.

Sen McKinney was raised in Fairfield and is the youngest of five children of the late Congressman Stewart McKinney and his wife Lucie. He graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1982, earned a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University in 1986 and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, with honors, in 1994.

He lives in Fairfield with his three children, Matthew, Graysen, and Kate.