Kevin Witkos (born 1964 or 1965) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Connecticut State Senate, 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 for the 8th Senate District since 2009, representing the northwest suburbs of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

in the Farmington Valley and Litchfield County in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, 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, th ...

, and Torrington. In 2015, precipitated by the multiple criminal convictions of

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut ...

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 In ...

, Witkos introduced legislation to require

background checks A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...

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 ...

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 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 and holds an A.S. from Tunxis Community College and a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

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 H ...

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

Political career

Professional career

Fireworks proposal

Personal

See also

References