Profile: Senate Leader John McKinney

State Senator John McKinney, from the 28th District, is the new Republican Leader. Senator McKinney was born in Fairfield, Connecticut on March 16, 1964. He is the youngest of five children of the late Congressman Stewart and Lucie McKinney. John graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1982, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1986 and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, with honors, in 1994. John was a law clerk to Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer, and later practiced law with the firm of Cummings and Lockwood.

John McKinney is serving the people of Easton, Fairfield, Newton, and Weston in his fifth term. He is the ranking member of the Environment, Transportation, and Housing Committees and is also a member of the Appropriations and Executive Nominations Committees. In addition, while serving in the Senate, John has been working tirelessly to protect our environment. He championed legislation that protects over 18,000 acres of land for open space, and to clean up Long Island Sound. Furthermore, John is an advocate for the homeless, believing that every citizen of Connecticut deserves a home.

John is actively involved in numerous local nonprofit organizations as well. He serves on the Board of the Center for Women and Families in Bridgeport, and the Fairfield Theatre Foundation. John and his family help provide housing and care for people with AIDS through the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation.

John lives in Fairfield with his wife, Megen, and their three children, Matthew, Graysen, and Kate.

Source: http://www.senaterepublicans.ct.gov/press/leadership/2007/061407_2.html