Is Kitchens Listening?

For 1st Assembly District constituents who were paying attention to the “listening” sessions after the initial announcement of the 2015-17 biennial state budget, and based on his near absolute public silence throughout the budget process, it is difficult to determine what concerns were actually ever heard by Representative Kitchens. Viewing the final budget, none of the issues voiced then, about job creation, fair wages and benefits, about preserving and restoring public education or respecting our state’s teachers, about preserving critical personal care for the elderly or disabled, and absolutely none of the critical concerns about our natural environmental protection issues seem to have registered with Representative Kitchens.

During the budget process we heard Kitchens explain that being a first term legislator is a difficult, at times overwhelming process with a steep learning curve. We heard reports that he was working behind the scenes to get things accomplished; both are reasonable and understandable claims. We read in Door County meeting minutes that Rep. Nygren, (R-Marinette) was his, “budget buddy,” and someone with that legislative committee clout to learn from should have been an advantage to addressing voiced constituent concerns. Have a look at some of what constituents got with the budget and other legislation Rep Kitchens publicly voiced no opposition to, nor concerns about.

We have DNR rules enforcement near completely gutted, Family Care and IRIS are going under the control of for-profit insurance companies, public education is further gutted at all levels through shifting public dollars to unaccountable school entities, criminalization of the unemployed and needy through attempted drug-testing of recipients while tax cuts to industrial manufacturing and corporate industrial agriculture (CAFOs) grow by another $250 million. This is just the start, but Mr. Kitchens without being specific stated he is not happy with the entire budget. A lock-step partisan on every issue except for the Bucks’ arena funding doesn’t say much to his credibility in adequately or successfully “representing” his district nor to his listening skills.

Our otherwise “quiet” Representative Kitchens did however show a surprising natural ability to speak on the floor of the Assembly on April 14. Representative Andy Jorgensen, (D-Milton) brought a resolution aimed at enacting a permanent ban on the introduction of any future “religious conscience” amendment, such as the controversial one passed and then quickly dropped in Indiana. Representative Kitchens spoke up in firm opposition to Jorgensen’s bill that would have barred Republicans from bringing future constitutional amendments or other legislation allowing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion or any of a host of other classifications and also called for the Assembly to reaffirm protecting the civil rights of all Wisconsinites and to denounce bigotry and hate.

Having clearly stated his legislative, “moral” imperative on the Assembly floor, questions about Kitchens’ support for Rep. Jacque’s (R-De Pere) current attempts at criminalizing women’s reproductive health care rights, about the proposed Republican dismantling of the GAB, about placing limits on the John Doe process or about future legislative majority goals at restricting and usurping more local control over environmental, education funding or zoning issues, all suggest questions to be brought again to our 1st District Representative Kitchens. Don’t be bashful.

Donald Freix
Fish Creek, Wis.
August 20th, 2015