Meet Jim

Bringing the Real World to Washington

Jim Himes is a community leader, a businessman, and an executive at a major non-profit organization. A husband and father of two young daughters, Jim is not a career politician. Rather, he is someone who will bring a real-world perspective to Washington, utilizing his experience in the business and non-profit sectors to bring a fresh, practical, solutions-oriented perspective to the challenges facing our community and country today.

As a father to Emma (8) and Linley (5), Jim cares deeply about the legacy we as Americans will be leaving to our children and to future generations.

Understanding the Importance of American Values

Jim was raised with a deep appreciation for American values. Born in Lima, Peru in 1966 to American parents, Jim spent his first 10 years of his childhood in Peru and Colombia while his father worked for the nonprofit Ford Foundation and for UNICEF. As an American abroad, Jim grew up fluent in both Spanish and English and was raised with an awareness of the unique position of the United States in the world - a leader in civil liberties, democratic self-government, and the rule of law, and a beacon of hope and economic opportunity for others around the world.

Jim's mother brought Jim and his two sisters back to the United States in time for the bicentennial celebrations of 1976. Like many Americans, Jim grew up with a single working mom in a small town in which he worked just about every job in town - mowing lawns, painting houses, working at the pizza place, the hardware store, and the drug store.

As a candidate for Congress, Jim believes that all Americans should have the same opportunities he was offered -- that if you work hard, play by the rules, and have access to a good public school, then you should have a shot at the American dream.

Making Good on the Promise of Public Education

Jim and his sisters attended public schools in their hometown, and the foundation of a good public education continues to open doors in Jim's life.

Jim left home for Harvard College in 1984. At Harvard, Jim worked closely with the Pulitzer-prize winning author Dr. Robert Coles on his book The Spiritual Life of Children, a job which took him to Nicaragua for a summer of research. Jim's academic and athletic accomplishments as an undergraduate earned him the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which enabled Jim to attend Oxford University in England where he continued his studies of Latin America, including research in El Salvador.

After completing his studies, Jim took an entry level job at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he worked his way up to Vice President over the course of a 12 year career. He worked extensively as a banker in Latin America and headed a telecom technology group during the economic boom times of the late 1990's. During that time, Jim and his wife Mary started a family in Cos Cob, CT and now have two daughters, Emma, who attends public school, and Linley, who will be heading to public school in the fall.

Jim believes that all children in our district, from Ridgefield to Bridgeport, from Stamford to Shelton, should be afforded the promise and opportunity of a good public education. Improving and supporting public schools in our district is not only a moral obligation, it is critical to the long-term economic health and job creation capability in our district.

Serving the Community in Connecticut's 4th District

After over a decade at Goldman Sachs, Jim devoted himself full-time to pursuing business-oriented solutions to the problems of urban poverty. Jim found an ideal role with Enterprise Community Partners, where he has run their Northeast operations since 2004. Under Jim's leadership, Enterprise worked with private, public, and community organizations to address complex issues of urban poverty. At Enterprise, Jim developed an innovative program to provide tax preparation assistance and financial services to low-income families at very low cost. Jim led the way in financing the construction of thousands of affordable housing units in the greater New York and Northeast regions, often using new green technologies to achieve energy efficiency and reduce utility costs.

In our local community, Jim utilized his expertise in affordable housing to work as a Commissioner of the Greenwich Housing Authority, ultimately chairing the board and leading it through a much needed program of reforms. Jim went on to become an elected member of his town's finance board, setting tax and budget policy for the town as a whole. Jim has also served as Chairman of his local Democratic Town Committee, organizing others in the community to become more active in the political process.

Jim is an Elder in his local Presbyterian congregation and an active Board Member of the Fairfield County Community Foundation, the largest community foundation in the 4th Congressional District dedicated to funding and promoting nonprofit programs to strengthen communities in Fairfield County. Jim has also been a member of the advisory board of Bridgeport-based Family Assets, Inc., and is the former chairman of the board of Bridgeport-based Aspira of Connecticut, which promotes academic success and leadership development of Puerto Rican and Latino youth in our community.

Restoring American Values at Home and Abroad

Jim's experience living in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East has given him a unique understanding of how the United States relates to the rest of the world. Described by his friends as "fiercely patriotic," Jim believes that the ideals of this country are our most important national treasure. He knows that we are at our best when the ideas of freedom, service, and democracy guide our conduct here at home and in the wider world.

Jim's life experience reflects the best of the American dream - that with a good public education and a strong work ethic, everyone should have a shot at economic opportunity and community leadership. Jim's commitment to the community reflects a belief that those who have been given opportunities have an obligation to serve and to ensure that others have a same shot at the American dream. Unfortunately, disastrous decisions by George Bush and Chris Shays have eroded our country's standing in the world and have crippled our economy, making it far less likely that our children and generations after them will have the same opportunities as Americans.

As the father of two young girls who will inherit the world we leave them, Jim believes our country has a unique role to play in leading the world to a more peaceful and prosperous future. The fact that our country seems to have wavered in our commitment to doing the right thing both at home and abroad is one of the primary reasons that Jim is running for Congress.