Art Linares (born October 31, 1987) is a former American politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

, representing the 33rd District from 2013 to 2018.

Political history

Linares was the

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

for the 33rd Senate District, representing the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, Clinton,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, Deep River,

East Haddam East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the Ni ...

, East Hampton,

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, Haddam, Lyme,

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybro ...

(part),

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, and Westbrook. He was the ranking Republican on the Planning and Development Committee. After exploring a run for numerous statewide offices, Linares settled in January on the State Treasurer's race. Linares received support from many of his State Senate colleagues but failed to raise enough money to qualify for the Citizens' Election Program and ultimately could not assemble enough support from Connecticut Republicans to win at the Connecticut GOP convention. Linares was defeated by Salisbury investment executive Thad Gray. Linares's campaign message was built on his record as a proven winner of elections but he undercut his conservative credentials by voting against and then for DACA immigration bills in the Connecticut legislature. Linares supported Governor Dan Malloy's budget at a critical deadline. Linares was seen late in the switch round of voting pushing delegates and his staff hard for more votes, but reached a point of no return when the Fairfield delegation made Gray's lead insurmountable. Linares has asked for time to talk to his wife

Caroline Simmons Caroline Simmons (born February 10, 1986) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Stamford, Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as State Representative for Connecticut's 144th District, where she was t ...

(D-Stamford) who is expecting the couple's first child, before deciding on whether to challenge Gray in the primary in August. Linares has decided to challenge Gray in the August primary but fired his campaign manager and is considering moving to the independent ballot before the August primary if he fails to pick up momentum quickly. Linares has stayed in the race but hired a Washington DC based campaign operative to manage his campaign.

Personal

Linares is the son of Art Linares Sr., a Cuban exile. Linares earned his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in entrepreneurship from the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

. Linares has aroused controversy by touting his experience running a small business on the campaign trail. Linares claims he cofounded and ran Greenskies, a solar energy company, but Linares was residing in Tampa, Florida during Greenskies early years in Connecticut and was never involved in the day-to-day management of the company. Greenskies was built and funded by Linares's father, Art Linares Sr. and Mike Silvestrini, the company's current president, although Linares does appear to have received some of the profit from the company's sale in 2017. Linares drives a Tesla. Robert Landino, CEO of former Centerplan Construction, who was fired from missing building deadlines of Dunkin' Donunts Park, was a primary investor. Linares is married to a Democratic Mayor

of Stamford. He proposed in a full page advertisement in the Stamford Advocate. Simmons and Linares cannot share a legal residence while they both remain in the state legislature, so Linares is giving up his seat in the State Senate to pursue statewide office.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linares, Art Republican Party Connecticut state senators Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians People from Westbrook, Connecticut American politicians of Puerto Rican descent American politicians of Cuban descent 1987 births

Political history

Personal

See also

References

External links