No matter what side of the aisle you support, there is a good chance Rep. Joel Kitchens has heard from its strongest supporters. The Wisconsin Legislature tackled a number of polarizing issues in 2021 including redistricting, vaccine and mask mandates, and the audit of the 2020 elections. Partly due to a Republican-held legislature and a Democratic-led administration, many of those issues needed the state or the federal Supreme Court to give their opinion. While other parts of the First District are strong Republican, Door County has been almost evenly split. Voters went for Democrat Joe Biden for U.S. President in 2020 and Republican Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor in 2018 by less than two percentage points. For Kitchens it means hearing from both sides on many major issues.
Kitchens was most proud of how the economy took strides forward in 2021, but was disappointed his bill addressing reading proficiency at the grade school level was not signed into law. He would like to bring that bill up again in 2022 as well as address law enforcement in the state as the crime rate rises in the major metropolitan areas and departments struggle to fill open positions.
