ABOUT JIM

ABOUT JIM BOWEN
FAMILY NEIGHBOR VETERAN PROVEN LEADER

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Jim and his family moved to Fairfield in 2019 after he and his better half Heidi both retired from the United States Air Force. Jim and Heidi retired as Colonels after leading Airmen and defending our country for nearly 28 and 24 years respectively. Jim has three daughters, the two oldest, Elizabeth and Lauren, have started their professional lives in Virginia, and his youngest, Kate, is a seventh grader at Roger Ludlowe Middle School. Jim has a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering, a MS degree in Systems Engineering, and a MS degree in Aerospace Science.

Being a military family, Jim and Heidi have moved a combined 19 times over 28 years and were looking for a town to put down long-term roots. Heidi, a native of Ridgefield CT, was familiar with the area and Fairfield enticed them with its long-term reputation of being a friendly, safe, and walkable beach town with an active community and strong public schools. Since living here, while they enjoy much of what the town has to offer and strive to contribute to the community, Jim has become concerned about certain directions the town is moving. In this election, Jim wants to do what he has done throughout his life and career – step up and work hard to solve problems and work together to build a stronger Fairfield!

Local Involvement

Jim is an active member of the local community contributing his time and talents to make our Town a great place to live. He is on the Board of Directors of the Fairfield Beach Resident's Association where he leads the Traffic Calming committee and serves on the Coastal Environment committee. He organized and led a group of citizens to appeal the 2020 Revaluation process and spent countless hours working with the State to bring transparency and accountability to the process. He also helped lead the Beach area efforts to bring that same level of transparency and accountability to the recent decisions regarding the future of Penfield Pavilion.

Jim gives a substantial amount of time to the local schools. He is an active member of the PTA and leads the RLMS Public Speaking & Debate Club. He has built, led, and participated in multiple Veterans Day programs in both FPS and neighboring district schools. Additionally, he was a member of the Fairfield Public School District's 5-Year Improvement Plan steering committee focused on prioritizing resources and building stronger schools for our children. Finally, he was a Mill River Wetlands field guide for multiple grades at Sherman Elementary.

He is a member of both the local American Legion and Port 5 Veteran's Association. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (RRVFPA) as the Secretary for Air Force Affairs. The RRVFPA is a national charitable organization and has awarded over 1,200 scholarship grants totaling over 2.5 million dollars to the children and spouses of Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps aircrew members.

Professional Background

Jim has spent a lifetime developing his leadership skills built on the foundation of three indispensable attributes: integrity, service before self and excellence in everything you do. During his 28-year Air Force career he rose to the rank of Colonel, the top 1% of all military leaders, ensuring our Nation’s freedom every day. Jim served in numerous operational, staff, and command assignments, including flying over 1,100 hours in F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets as a Weapon Systems Officer and assignments in the Pentagon including five years working as a liaison to United States Congress. In these capacities he learned to build teams, solve complex global security issues and develop and explain multi-billion-dollar budgets to various groups; he knows how to analyze a budget and make sure every dime is spent wisely.

As a Senior Officer he was selected to be a Commander four different times at both the Squadron and Group level. He is a decorated combat veteran and has participated and led Airmen conducting combat operations in multiple operations around the world. Jim is a proven leader of unquestionable integrity, he knows how to build teams, solve problems, and complete the mission at hand.

Finally, during eight years of his career, he was a teacher, instructor and evaluator in both combat ready Fighter Squadron’s and the Air Force’s F-15E Formal Training unit. He also served as a Department Chair and Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. These were incredibly rewarding positions for Jim given his passion for education; he understands the importance of inspiring young people to grow into the best versions of themselves.