Republicans Nominate

Sen McKinney For Sixth Term

Twenty-eighth District Republicans have officially nominated State Senator John McKinney to run for a sixth term in the State Senate representing the towns of Newtown, Easton, Fairfield, and Weston. Sen McKinney, who was elected Minority Leader in June 2007, is the highest ranking Republican in the Senate and serves as the ranking senator on the legislature’s Environment, Legislative Management, and Executive Nominations committees.

The 28th District Republican Nominating Convention was held recently at Helen Keller School in Easton.

McKinney was nominated by Tony Hwang of Fairfield, and the nomination was seconded by Will Rodgers of Newtown. In his acceptance speech, McKinney thanked his family and supporters, spoke of his accomplishments during the last two legislative sessions, and outlined a series of priorities for the 2009 General Assembly.

“We have made progress on a number of important issues in recent years,” Sen McKinney said. “Working directly with Governor Rell and legislative leaders from both parties, we have passed legislation to provide tax credits to small businesses that create new jobs, cap greenhouse gas emissions to protect our environment, increase funding for open space and farmland preservation and create Jessica’s Law for Connecticut, establishing mandatory jail sentences for child sex offenders and predators who use the Internet to harm our kids.”

In addition to his leadership on state budget issues, McKinney has been a leader for cleaning up state government and protecting taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse. Sen McKinney was the first legislator to call for the creation of an Office of Inspector General.

“The General Assembly faces several important challenges as we work to improve public safety, increase access to quality affordable health care, and help Connecticut residents cope with rising fuel costs and a slowing economy. But, in order for state government to achieve its goals in any of these areas, it is vital we take the steps necessary to clean up state government,” said Sen McKinney.

“I believe establishing an Office of Inspector General should be part of any comprehensive effort to clean up state government. As a part-time legislature, we do not have the time or resources to conduct proper oversight of state agencies. Having a dedicated Inspector General would help to improve government accountability, combat government corruption, and eliminate wasteful government spending.”

Sen McKinney said he will continue to prioritize housing, education, and transportation issues throughout his campaign and into the next legislative session.

Sen McKinney vowed to continue his work to ensure the towns of Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, and Weston receive their fair share of state education funding.

“The State’s ECS formula is broken. It’s time we fix it and provide all our towns with their fair share of education dollars,” Sen McKinney said.

Senator McKinney, 44, earned a BA degree from Yale University and a JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He lives in Fairfield with his wife Megen and their three children, Matthew, 12, Graysen, 9, and Kate, 7.