Fairfield Army Veteran Announces Candidacy For State Senate

FAIRFIELD, CT — Tim Gavin, a Fairfield resident and captain in the U.S. Army Reserves, has announced his intent to run for state Senate as a Democrat in the 28th District.

“I’m running to represent us all,” he said in a news release from the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee. “Our principles and our values.”

Gavin launched his campaign Wednesday at Fairfield’s Old Town Hall. The 28th District serves Fairfield, Easton, Newtown and most of Bethel, and is represented by Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang, who was first elected to the seat in 2014. Hwang filed papers in late 2021 to seek reelection. He did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.

Gavin decided to run for office in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Seeing the walls of our Capitol scaled and the Senate chamber overrun, all based on a lie? That served as a real wake up call for me,” he said in the news release. “And I think it showed us all how fragile our democracy is. That day motivated me to roll up my sleeves and get involved locally.”

Gavin is a Canton native, an Eagle Scout and a 2017 graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in humanities and a concentration in ethics and international affairs. A former infantry officer with the U.S. Army, he now works combatting the exploitation of young people on social media as a child safety project manager for Meta.

In the news release, he took particular issue with Hwang’s position against easing access to voting, and advocated for increasing accessibility.

The Democratic nominating convention for the 28th District is set for May 10. Election Day is Nov. 8.