By Press Times Staff

Republican incumbent Joel Kitchens faces a challenge from Democrat challenger Kim Delorit Jensen in the 1st Assembly District Nov. 3.

Kitchens, born in Washington D.C., has held the seat since 2015.

He is a veterinarian by trade and has served as president of the Sturgeon Bay school board.

Delorit Jensen, born in Green Bay, is making her first run for public office.

She is a restaurateur and has been affiliated with Destination Door County, the Egg Harbor Business Association and the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

The Press Times emailed each candidate the same questions and gave them 100 words to respond to each.

The 1st Assembly District includes portions of Brown and Manitowoc counties and all of Door and Kewaunee counties.

Joel Kitchens

What’s the biggest issue in District 1?

While there are many important issues facing the district, the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is the most urgent.

The budgetary shortfalls caused by the pandemic threaten many of the other priorities we hold dear.

Prior to the pandemic, our state’s economy was arguably the strongest it had been in our history.

It is vital that we not back away from the reforms which attracted new businesses and allowed existing businesses to flourish, leading to our lowest unemployment rate ever.

Now is not the time to raise taxes on our hardworking families.

Joel Kitchens

What should be done on the state level to handle COVID-19 pandemic?

While the state has very little money of its own with which to address the pandemic, the federal CARES Act money has been invaluable in providing relief and helping our medical community address this crisis.

While this money is under the unilateral control of the governor, it is vital that we prioritize testing and contact tracing.

It must be recognized that we are limited in our ability to regulate our citizens’ behavior and that the choices people make has a tremendous impact on our success in fighting the virus.

We must continue to educate and advocate for safe health practices.

How should state lawmakers regulate the use of force by police? Should uniform standards be implemented statewide?

I believe the state should have guidelines on the use of force by police departments and that the law enforcement community should be heavily involved in drafting those guidelines.

To me, it is unconscionable that some called for us to put officers’ lives at risk by rushing in to pass regulations without the normal public hearing process.

Our police departments are run locally, and I believe the most important aspect of this issue is that the departments adequately screen and train new officers and that bad officers be immediately removed from the force.

What changes should be made to the state funding formula for public school districts to place less of a burden on property taxpayers and to avoid referendums?

As the co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding, we heard from stakeholders from all types of schools across the state.

The most fundamental flaw in our formula is the manner in which it treats schools with declining enrollment.

Because of fixed costs, a school does not lose $10,000 in expense when it loses one student.

I have written a bill to address this issue that I will reintroduce next session.

Beyond that, it is important that we follow through on our commitment to adequately fund students with special needs and mental health issues.

How should lawmakers in Wisconsin work better together with less partisanship?

While every new candidate promises to work across the aisle, very few do it.

I have proven over my three terms to have that ability.

This summer, a Democratic colleague and I wrote the Emergency Elections Bill, which became the basis for the Elections Commission policies to address the November election.

I have developed strong relationships and mutual trust across the aisle by always dealing with them honestly and avoiding the partisan games that are often played in Madison.

Unfortunately, in politics there is often more concern with getting credit than actually accomplishing something which makes cooperation a challenge.

Kim Delorit Jensen

What’s the biggest issue in District 1?

At present the COVID-19 pandemic.

In my District of Door and Kewaunee counties plus parts of Brown and Manitowoc counties, we are seeing the drastic results of a do-nothing Legislature that refuses to put people’s safety first, refuses to meet, refuses to let the governor govern.

This is a sad example of putting party first over people.

People are losing their jobs, their homes, their cars, their livelihoods.

Farmers are being forced to shut down at alarming rates.

Businesses are closing unsure that they will ever open again.

There could never be a more important issue.

Kim Delorit Jensen

What should be done on the state level to handle the COVID-19 pandemic?

First, we need to get politics out of the decisions being made.

The scientists are clear on what we should do.

Yes, their recommendations are hard, but we are now in the top tier of crisis states, and Northeast Wisconsin ranks in the top 10 areas nationally.

The Legislature needs to meet, to pass aggressive mandatory safety measures and to be honest with their constituents about the crisis we are facing.

Second, we need to address the crisis in rural health care and the lack of hospital capacity in some parts of the state.

How should state lawmakers regulate the use of force by police? Should uniform standards be implemented statewide?

In consultation with police and sheriffs, district attorneys and legal experts, lawmakers must first acknowledge that there are area-specific problems with police conduct and there are systemic problems on national and state levels.

Then those issues must be addressed.

People of color are treated differently than whites.

They do not trust the legal system.

Local issues should be addressed locally, but training standards and penalties for discriminatory behavior should be uniform statewide.

We need to honor our police and sheriff officers by rooting out those who cannot treat everyone equally and with situation-specific limited force.

What changes should be made to the state funding formula for public school districts to place less of a burden on property taxpayers and to avoid referendums?

The question is well put.

The state has not lived up to the promises it has made several times to education and to our students.

Vouchers have been a major drain on public education, an example of an unfunded mandate imposed on our public schools.

Referendums waste school board’s and administration’s time, taking them away from focusing on providing quality education.

They accentuate the differences between resource-rich and resource-poor districts.

Only the state can level the quality of the education field and ensure our students thrive.

How should lawmakers in Wisconsin work better together with less partisanship?

Partisanship begins with the intended results of gerrymandered districts.

Wisconsin’s maps are among the most misshapen in the country intended to counter unfavorable election results.

We need an impartial redistricting commission.

Then partisanship depends on long-serving representatives operating in the legislature to protect their power and benefits.

I favor term-limits for this reason.

Finally, partisanship depends on legislators putting party before people.

When this happens, they need to be called out and forced to be accountable for their actions.