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Kevin Witkos (born 1964 or 1965) is a Republican 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 8th District since 2009. He served as Deputy Senate Republican President Pro Tempore since January 2017 to January 2019. and previously served as Minority Leader Pro Tempore from 2014 to 2016 and Caucus Chairman for Outreach since 2013. Witkos served as the State Representative from the 17th district which includes Canton and part of Avon from 2003 to 2008.


Political career

Witkos is 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 8th Senate District since 2009, representing the northwest suburbs of Hartford in the Farmington Valley and
Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...
in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of Avon, Barkhamsted,
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
, Colebrook, Granby, Hartland, Harwinton, New Hartford,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
Simsbury Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, the ...
, and Torrington. In 2015, precipitated by the multiple criminal convictions of Central Connecticut State University professor
Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
, Witkos introduced legislation to require background checks before promoting professors in the state's university system. Though unsuccessful in the Senate, the legislation led to the
Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education The Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR) is a government body in the U.S. state of Connecticut that oversees the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU). CSCU and the BOR were created on July 1, 2011, consolidating the governance of ...
's proposal to allow convictions to be used as a consideration in employment decisions. In 2017, Witkos joined with Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff in support of legislation to repeal
occupational licensing Occupational licensing, also called occupational licensure, is a form of government regulation requiring a license to pursue a particular profession or vocation for compensation. It is related to occupational closure. Professions that can have a ...
requirements for certain jobs, including "above-ground swimming pool installer, uniform student athlete agents, licensed shorthand reporters, and real estate intern"; Governor
Dannel P. Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician, who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. On July ...
signed the bill into law. In 2021, Kevin Witkos was the only Republican state senator to vote for the legalization of recreational marijuana. Witkos' vote was crucial, as the final tally was 19–17. Witkos' wife Esther is employed by Curaleaf, a medical marijuana producer. However, Witkos explained that her employment there had no bearing on his vote. In January 2022, Witkos announced that he would not seek reelection and would retire at the end of his term.


Professional career

Kevin Witkos is a Community Relations & Economic Development Specialist for Eversource, a Connecticut Electric Utility. He is also a former Canton Police Department sergeant who had a 28-year career in law enforcement.


Fireworks proposal

Kevin and others sponsored a controversial bill that would legalize fireworks considered to be consumer-level by the federal government in an effort to boost revenue. However, the bill failed in the face of steep opposition by the state's police and fire-fighting forces.


Personal

Witkos was born in
Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...
and holds an A.S. from
Tunxis Community College Tunxis Community College is a public community college in Farmington, Connecticut. Opened in 1969, it is named after the Tunxis Native American Tribe and is part of the Connecticut Community Colleges system. Admission Tunxis has an open admiss ...
and a B.A. from the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
.


See also

*
Connecticut 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 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witkos, Kevin 1960s births Republican Party Connecticut state senators Living people People from Beverly, Massachusetts People from Canton, Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians