DCCC - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

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.

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.

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.