James Mol

James Mol is an officeholder of the Suffield School District, At-large in Connecticut. His current term ends in 2029.

Mol (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Connecticut House of Representatives to represent District 61. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. The Democratic primary for this office on August 11, 2026, was canceled.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I run a small hospitality consulting business, I have three children in Suffield's public schools, and I have served on the Suffield Board of Education since 2019. My wife and I bought our farm in West Suffield in 2008 to keep it from being developed.

Six years of school budgets taught me that good schools and a reasonable tax bill are not in conflict, and that most of what strains both is decided in Hartford. I'm running to bring that experience to Suffield, East Granby and Windsor Locks: to treat every state dollar with the same care our town budgets get, and to protect what makes these towns worth living in.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am not a politician. I am a small business owner, a farmer, a father, and a public servant on the Suffield Board of Education, including its Finance and Facilities Subcommittee. Six budget cycles taught me something I did not expect: we budget to maintain rather than to improve, and even that gets harder every year. That is not because our towns are careless with money. It is because of decisions made in Hartford that most people never see. I am running because those decisions land directly on families in Suffield, East Granby, and Windsor Locks, and this district deserves someone who has actually sat with the budgets and understands how state policy reaches a classroom and a tax bill.Property taxes here are high because the state underfunds its obligations. Connecticut's education funding formula has not changed since 2013. It costs $21,164 to educate a student in Suffield; the state contributed $3,205 last year, and local property taxpayers covered the rest. The gap is even wider in East Granby and Windsor Locks, where the state's contribution covers roughly a tenth of what educating a student actually costs. I will work to write a modernized, inflation-indexed funding formula into permanent law, fully fund the 2025 special education grant the legislature created but only pays sixteen cents on the dollar, and rebalance the formula's wealth measure so that household income counts for more than property value alone.I am running as a Democrat, but I am running for everyone in this district. The issues that matter most here do not break along party lines: what our schools cost, how we make farming viable for young farmers, whether our roads are safe, and what we get back from Bradley International Airport, which sits inside all three of our towns. I have knocked on thousands of doors across Suffield, East Granby, and Windsor Locks, and I put my direct phone number on every card I leave. Residents deserve a representative who answers the phone, explains the reasoning behind a vote, and will work with anyone in Hartford willing to help this district.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public education funding and how it drives local property taxes. After nearly six years on a school board I understand the Education Cost Sharing formula, the Excess Cost Grant, and special education finance in operational detail rather than in the abstract.

Farmland preservation and farming viability, including access to land at a price the next generation of farmers can actually pay.

Road safety and mobility, particularly in two towns that have no public transit service at all.

Bradley International Airport, which occupies roughly 2,432 acres across all three towns in this district and should generate far more benefit for the people who live beside it.

Property tax relief through the state meeting the obligations it has already made.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Endorsed by the Democratic Party at the 61st District nominating convention, AFSCME Council 4, and AFT Connecticut.