Cheshire Town Councilor Announces Candidacy For 13th State Senate District

CHESHIRE, CT — Cheshire Town Councilor Jim Jinks has announced his candidacy for Connecticut’s 13th State Senate District.

Jinks, a Democrat, was re-elected to his fourth term on the Cheshire Town Council in November and has previously served on the Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission.

Jinks enters the race with a “focus on making Connecticut an easier place for everyone to thrive, prioritizing state support for municipal budgets and protecting families in the digital age,” according to a campaign news release.

“I’m running because I’ve seen first-hand how state-level decisions impact our local property tax bills and household budgets,” Jinks said. “As a father of four in a two-career household, I really understand the 'struggle is real'—the challenge of trying to balance work, rising costs, and being there for your kids. I’ve spent my time on the Town Council fighting to make local government more responsive to voters and residents; now, I’m ready to take that fight to Hartford to ensure the state is the best partner to our towns and our families.”

Jinks previously ran for state office in 2020 when he narrowly lost a hotly contested race with Republican incumbent Craig Fishbein for the 90th District state House seat. Jinks appeared to have won the race on Election Night, but the Wallingford Town Clerk's office discovered that no votes from Mary G. Fritz Elementary School were recorded in the state election reporting system.

The updated results, including the votes from Fritz Elementary School, showed Fishbein leading the race by 21 votes – 7,058 to 7,037. The close vote forced the automatic recount in both Wallingford and Cheshire.

Jinks ultimately fell short by only seven votes (7,055 to 7,048), campaign officials said at the time.

New district maps for the state House of Representatives were approved in 2021, and Cheshire was drawn out of the 90th District, which now includes parts of Wallingford and Middlefield.

Read more from Jinks’ campaign news release below:

“In my own family, we’ve experienced much of what Connecticut families face every day—navigating schools and learning, juggling busy schedules, health and wellness, the unrelenting intrusion of technology and affording it all,” Jinks said. “In politics nothing has been handed to me. I’ve worked for every vote I’ve ever received, and I will work just as hard to represent the people of the 13th District in the State Senate, making a difference for all residents and voters, every day and all year long.”

First elected to the Cheshire Town Council in 2019, Jinks has been re-elected three times, serving in a leadership capacity for the past two years as Vice Chairperson and Budget Committee Chairperson. He has played a pivotal role in Cheshire’s recent political shift, winning four consecutive elections in a historically Republican-leaning district and helping to recruit many good people to run for office and serve on volunteer boards and commissions.

Outside of the Council, Jinks is a 25-year veteran of the marketing and advertising industry. He is currently a Vice President at Mediabids, a Connecticut-based direct response ad agency. He has deep roots as a volunteer in Cheshire, having founded Bike Cheshire, an award-winning nonprofit, and serving on the boards of the Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire and Chesprocott Health District.

Jinks will focus his campaign on addressing the systemic issues that squeeze Connecticut residents. Jinks argues that affordability starts at the state level.

"The state has been overly cautious while towns struggle with balancing their budgets," Jinks said. "We need to be bolder, including a more progressive income tax structure, increasing ECS [Education Cost Sharing] funding to towns, reducing municipal benefits costs and a focus on energy and sustainability—to provide real relief to the middle class."

As a parent, Jinks is deeply concerned about the negative impact of social media and AI on children’s mental health, growth and future job opportunities. He is calling for smart policy and regulation to benefit from tech but also protect the next generation and our state workforce.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Jim has lived in the district for nearly 13 years with his wife, Marie, their four children, and their dog, CJ. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in Public Policy from Trinity College.