Kevin.WItkos@cga.ct.gov
Official Website
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860-240-8800
A.S., Tunxsis Community College, Connecticut State Police Academy, University of Massachusetts
Internship (co-chair), Energy and Technology (ranking member), General Law (ranking member), Legislative Management, Public Safety
Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby, Hartland, Harrwinton, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington
Police officer, Canton
$88,271. Witkos participated in the state's public campaign financing program.
| Kevin Witkos (R) | 26,417 | (65.3%) |
| Donald J. O'Brien (D) | 13,479 | (33.3%) |
| Donald J. O'Brien (WF) | 547 | (1.4%) |
| 0 | (0%) |
Witkos won an open Senate seat in 2008, succeeding Republican Thomas J. Herlihy. He had to win a Republican primary, then face a strong Democrat cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party in the general election. In 2010, he had an easier time, winning by a 2-1 margin.He previously won three terms in the House, beginning in 2002 with his 38-vote, upset win over a prominent Democratic incumbent, Jessie Stratton.
Witkos has one of the most conservative voting records in the General Assembly on both fiscal and social issues, voting against medical marijuana, same-sex marriage, mortgage assistance, emergency contraceptives for rape victims and two Democratic health-reform bills.
In 2009, he was one of only two legislators in either chamber to vote against banning the use of machine guns by children, a bill proposed after a Connecticut child was accidentally shot and killed using an automatic weapon at a firing range in Massachusetts. In 2007, Witkos voted against another gun-control measure, which would have required gun owners to report stolen guns.
Personal: He is married to Esther Witkos and is the father of two children. They live in Canton.
He reported income from the town of Canton. His wife, Esther Witkos, is employed by Valley Energy. They own their home in Canton.He owns no securities.Witkos filed a confidential addendum listing any debts exceeding $10,000. He declined to release the addendum, as is his choice under the law.A note on financial disclosure: Every spring, officials are required to disclose the ownership of real estate, the source of any income exceeding $1,000 in the previous calendar year and securities worth more than $5,000. They also are required to file an addendum in which they report any debt of more than $10,000; this may by law be kept confidential.
| Adopted budget | Nay |
| Campaign finance | Absent |
| Criminal background checks | Yea |
| Deer hunting | Yea |
| Education reform | Yea |
| Electric regulation | Nay |
| Expansion of OTB | Yea |
| School bus seatbelts | Yea |
| Sentencing commission | Yea |
| UConn Health Center | Yea |
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THE MINIMUM WAGE
Connecticut's hourly minimum wage of $8.25 is one of the highest in the nation, trailing Washington at $9.04, Oregon at $8.80 and Vermont at $8.46.
Five of the six New England states exceed the federal minimum of $7.25. The exception is New Hampshire, whose minimum is the same as the feds.
Connecticut is one of 18 states with a minimum higher than the federal standard. Twenty-thrree are at the federal level, four are below it and five have no minimum wage.
Ten states have a minimum wage indexed to the cost of living.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
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