Patch Candidate Profile: Tim Wilk For 81st House District

Editor's Note: Connecticut Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The 2026 election is heating up in Connecticut, and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

Eyes are primarily focused on the Connecticut gubernatorial election, but every state representative and senate seat is up for grabs. All five of Connecticut's congressional seats are up for grabs as well.

There are 151 seats in the state House of Representatives and 36 in the state Senate.

Democrats currently hold majorities in both chambers.

Southington Republican Tim Wilk is challenging state Rep. Christopher Poulos, D-Southington, for the 81st House District seat.

The 81st House District is composed of most of Southington, the only town in the district.

Candidate's Name:

Tim Wilk

What office are you seeking?

State Representative, 81st District

Age:

55

District:

81st

Party:

Republican

Campaign website:

https://timwilk4ct.com

Occupation:

Retired police officer

Family:

Wife Kristen, two sons, Noah (20), Jameson (17)

Does anyone in your family work in government?

No

Previous public office:

Current Chairman of Southington Board of Fire Commissioners, Cable Advisory Board. Formerly served on the Conservation Commission

Why are you seeking this office?

Having served as a police officer in Southington for nearly 30 years, I’ve become intimately familiar with my community. No other job takes you into people's homes and personal lives like a police officer does. I’ve dealt with grief, anguish, and hardship on a level few get to experience.

As an FBI-trained hostage/crisis negotiator, I have advanced training and experience listening to and helping people navigate their darkest moments.

I’ve used that training and experience as a volunteer with the Crisis Text Line and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I’ve quite literally had people’s lives in my own hands, and I’ve negotiated through some critical and stressful situations. My training and experience in these areas would serve me very well as your next State Representative.

I’m currently retired, so I can devote my full time and resources to serving our community in Hartford.

As a regular community member, I’ve done everything I was taught to do, work hard, save money, invest, and live below my means, yet I still feel the pinch every month. When I heard elderly folks tell me that they had to decide between paying for medication or paying for food, I said, “I’ve heard enough. Not on my watch.”

Decades of single-party majority rule in state government have unnecessarily caused undue and unjust hardship for all of us.

I have a unique ability to connect with people. I want to put my training, experience, and generosity to good use and be the guardian for my community once again in a different capacity.

I’ll work towards making our state more affordable, lowering electric rates and keeping local control in the hands of Southington residents, where it belongs.

What do you believe is the No. 1 issue facing Connecticut, and how do you plan to address it?

The number one issue facing CT is affordability. I’ve heard it door-knocking throughout our community and talking with many people.

There are several reasons why Connecticut is one of the most expensive places to live in, retire in, and die in. Connecticut is second only to Hawaii in one-way U-Haul rentals.

We have to fully fund education, which should provide some tax relief to our residents.

We have about 1,400 unfunded government mandates that need review.

Our government imposes these on us without regard for how we are supposed to pay for them.

Gov. Lamont signed over 100 laws with new unfunded mandates during his eight years in office. We should evaluate and remove unfunded mandates where and when possible, fully fund education to help keep our taxes down, and eliminate the public benefits charge in our utility bills.

Energy costs have been soaring in Connecticut. What are your plans to help address this issue?

The Public Benefits Charge in our electric bills needs to go. Only about 15% of it is used to help people keep their lights on.

About 20% of the policies and costs in our electric bills are government-imposed, much of which can be stopped or refunded at the executive level.

Gov. Lamont passed three laws that increased our Public Benefits Charge by billions of dollars, much of which went to special subsidies for private energy companies, leaving our residents with the check.

Electric rates have risen 38% under Gov. Lamont. We need to eliminate the public benefits charge and manage a select few of the remaining programs through the regular budget, expand natural gas capacity, and explore nuclear solutions.

Affordability has been a major topic across the country and here in Connecticut. How do you plan to address this issue?

I’ve talked to hundreds of people over the last several months, and affordability is far and away the biggest issue.

Something I haven’t discussed much in my campaigning is my favor for checks and balances.

It was a large part of my work and home life, and I want more of it in government so we could keep more money in the hands of the people where it belongs.

I mentioned earlier the unfunded mandates that go unchecked. That seems like a great place to start.

Since Gov. Lamont took office, government subsidies rose from $ 200k to $1 million.

There are about 97k people on unemployment, and the unemployment rate is about 5%. We give away about $1.3B per year to illegal immigrants, according to fairus.org.

We need more fiscal conservatism, starting at the top, and to remind the single-party majority that the money belongs to the people.

I will vote conservatively and work to keep more money in our residents' hands.

I like the idea of eliminating taxes on Social Security and pensions for our seniors. There are so many silly and annoying fees, such as the CT parks add-on in our vehicle registrations and using the public benefits charge in our electric bills to pay for free admission to Beardsley Zoo.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Surviving a career in law enforcement is perhaps my greatest accomplishment.

During my career (and beyond), I’ve lived by two codes: “Without passion or prejudice” and “Listen with the intention to understand, not respond.”

I’ve been able to apply my training and experience with negotiations and suicide prevention to help countless people in crisis and many others who were contemplating suicide.

I think if I can persuade those populations, I could persuade others to keep bad bills from moving through.

More recently, as chair of the Southington Board of Fire Commissioners, we obtained Town Council permission to apply for a grant for 12 additional firefighters. This came just a couple of months after they had denied us permission to apply for just three. This was achieved through grassroots conversations, debates, diplomacy, and negotiations, all of which are required to achieve similar results in Hartford. I humbly ask for your vote during Early Voting, starting on October 19th - November 1 and on Election Day, November 3rd.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Decades of single-party rule in Hartford simply isn’t working.

I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s said that their quality of life is better.

When one party creates such an imbalance as a supermajority it simply isn’t good for business.

We have so much room for improvement, which we can all benefit from if we could just balance the scales and get back to the negotiating table.

We’re losing control to our own government. They’re supposed to be working for us.

I want everyone to know how much I respect, appreciate, and support our veterans and seniors.

I was raised in a military family. My sister ran the family program for the CT National Guard for her career. After my father died, my mother told us how much he hated the way Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned.

He said, “I couldn't do anything about it then, but I sure as hell could do something about it now.”

My father went on to serve at hundreds of military funerals throughout the state. His reputation was well-known. I rode along with him to many of those funerals as a young kid and watched in fascination.

It likely had much to do with my chosen career path and my appreciation. Our seniors and veterans should be at the front of the line for everything that we can offer them.

I have, for all intents and purposes, suspended my life so that I could commit 100% to this campaign.

Many of you have seen me out in the rain waving to motorists, running door-to-door in the extreme heat to meet my neighbors, and showing up at countless events and fundraisers throughout town over the last few months.

It’s been important to me that people see for themselves what they would be getting if they voted for me.

Yet, the hardest part about the entire campaign has been convincing people that I am genuine, sincere, and only asking for an opportunity to fight for you, every one of you, whether you vote for me or not.

Not a bit of this is self-serving.

I’m willing to make the sacrifice of leaving my retired life to go back to work for my community because I believe it’s still a noble calling.

I’m just following God’s plan to the best of my ability. I would not even have this opportunity if not for the love, support, and sacrifices of my parents and my family.