Cheshire Election 2025: Jim Jinks Running For Town Council

CHESHIRE, CT — The 2025 municipal election is heating up in Cheshire with plenty of races on the ballot.

Voters will cast their ballots in the Nov. 4 election for seats on the Town Council, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission and more.

Cheshire Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Jim Jinks is running for re-election to the Cheshire Town Council as a Democrat.

What office are you seeking?
Town Council, 2nd District

Campaign Website

https://www.cheshiredem.org

Occupation:

Sales and marketing. Twenty-five years plus.

Family:
My wife Marie and I have been married for twenty-six years. We four kids and a dog.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
I don't have family in local or state government but my oldest daughter works in public affairs communications in Washington, D.C.

Previous public office, appointive or elective:
I'm running for my fourth, two-year term on the Cheshire Town Council. I also previously served on the Cheshire Planning & Zoning Commission for two years.

Why are you seeking this office?
I'm running to continue to move Cheshire forward. Heading into the current term my priorities were public safety, traffic issues and trying to maintain the rural character of Cheshire. This Council increased starting pay for new police officers and brought back a pension (after a decade of not offering one to new hires.) The relatively low starting pay and the lack of a pension for new hires resulted in major recruitment and retention challenges at the police department. A fully-funded and fully-staffed police department is in the best interest of everyone in Cheshire and this Council made it happen. Road safety has long been a concern of mine in Cheshire. Our roads can and should be safer for drivers, people on bikes and walkers/runners. Speeding and running stop signs/street lights is a widespread concern for all of us on the roads. This Council said yes to a town-wide traffic study, where previous Council's chose to shrug their shoulders and assume not much can be done. I reject the idea that nothing can be done and I reject that we have to live with our roads getting more and more dangerous. The traffic study will be an important first step toward improving roadway safety for everyone. Our orchards, farms and open space are one of the things that make Cheshire special. Once it's gone we can't bring it back. This is why I support our farms and support the open space referendum on the ballot this year. Having the funds to buy open space is an important tool for the Council for retaining our rural character. I'm running again to continue what we've started - namely executing on saving open space, ensuring the traffic study fulfills its promise, strengthening public health, moving forward with school modernization planning, and supporting the services the town provides and our residents depend on all year long.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it:
The 'single most pressing issue' is a matter of perspective. For seniors on a fixed income, higher property taxes are likely the most pressing issue. But for school families, their greatest concern may be a loss of special education funding or cuts to the education budget that lead to larger (and less effective) classes. Everyone in between is frustrated with the pace of development and the costs - more traffic, more students and more demands on town services. What can we do about it? For seniors and veterans we'll be looking at how much we can increase the local property tax credit programs. I also want to evaluate how much we can reduce the costs of town services for seniors and veterans - like Park & Rec fees, for example. For school families I will continue to support our schools. Proficiency in math, science and english has been steadily improving over the past decade. Cheshire is now ranked #8 in Connecticut. I'll be supporting this momentum. But we also have to be vigilant about costs. The Council recently formed an insurance working group to assist the town and schools in evaluating opportunities in health and liability insurance. These have been two rapidly growing costs in recent years for the town and the schools. We're hoping to find some savings in these areas. In terms of growth and traffic, I think school modernization and improving traffic are two sides of the same coin. In the near future the location of the high school is unlikely to change but perhaps we can change how traffic accesses the high school property. We have to reduce the congestion on Route 10 and this can't really be achieved given the way everyone accessing the high school from Route 10. The solutions aren't well studied or known but where there's a will there's a way.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?
The primary difference between myself and my opponent is experience. I've served the past six years on the Council (two years in the leadership) and also have experience serving on Planning & Zoning. On the Council I've also served on the important School Modernization Committee and I've been the liaison to many volunteer Boards and Commission - like the Water Pollution Control Authority, the Public Safety Commission and the Economic Development Committee, among others. But I'm not resting on my laurels. I don't take anything for granted and I'm always trying to hear from my neighbors and friends in the 2nd District. I've held weekly 'coffee hours' on Thursdays since early September. I've been calling voters and I've knocked on hundreds of doors this election season. I value hearing from and speaking to Cheshire residents about their real concerns. The 'Cheshire Community Forum' is no place to keep in touch with people in Cheshire busy living their lives and trying to do their best for themselves and their families. Communication and transparency is an important priority for me. I started a Substack (called CheshireStack) in an effort to try and keep the public more informed about the work of the Council. I also supported an overhaul of the Town website and the hiring of a new staff member in the Town Manager's office with a focus on communications. Lastly, I serve on the Board of our regional public health agency. Public health is an increasingly important service for Cheshire residents and our business community. Experience and understanding the role of our public health agency, especially given the threats to funding from the Federal government, is a significant difference between myself and my opponent.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?
In short we need to evaluate and consider implementing (or making changes) to certain ordinances - namely blight, the demolition delay for historic structures and noise. I also want to continue to find ways to generate more public engagement during the operating budget process.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?
I'm a three term incumbent. I've served in leadership on the Council over the past two years and I've served on Planning & Zoning. Aside from my public service experience I have over twenty-five years in leadership at Connecticut-based marketing services firms. I've started and operated an award winning community non-profit. I have a master's degree in public policy and I've earned the Certified Connecticut Municipal Official certificate from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. I've done the job and I'm as energized as ever to work for the people of Cheshire.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
No one is ever 'ready.' Get started. You'll make mistakes and you won't be great at anything at first. But you'll figure it out and get better. But simply get started.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
Serving on the Council and working for the people of Cheshire has been the honor of my life. But we're just getting started. There's so much to be done. I hope I've earned your vote. Thank you.