Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman today marked her first anniversary in the County Executive’s Office.
“It’s been a pleasure to serve in this role over the last year, and I look forward to many productive years ahead,” Kerkman said. “It has been and continues to be a deeply rewarding experience to lead county government in the place where I was raised and where I’m now raising my family.”
Kerkman was elected as county executive in April 2022, following a 21-year career as a state representative representing much of Kenosha County in the Legislature. After taking office, Kerkman immediately set out to apply her skills and experience to her new role as the county’s chief executive.
“Listening and learning with our internal team members and external partners who work together to ensure that county government is serving our residents effectively and efficiently was one of my top priorities, and it will remain so,” Kerkman said.
Looking back at her first year in the county’s top office, Kerkman outlined a series of “firsts” that her administration has accomplished. Among them:
- Making traveling constituent outreach a priority, with the Saturdays in the Park with Sam and Cocoa & Coffee with Kerkman office hours events held across the county.
- Taking county government services to the Kenosha County Fair.
- Becoming the first county executive in many years to keep a satellite office at the County Center in Bristol, where Kerkman is available to meet with constituents who would prefer to travel there instead of the Administration Building in downtown Kenosha.
- Convening a roundtable of village leaders from across the county and hosting the first-ever Bi-County Council of Governments meeting jointly with officials from Racine County.
- Bringing together law enforcement leaders from across Kenosha County for a summit in the County Executive’s Office to discuss issues of shared concern.
- Retooling and convening the Kenosha County Opioid Settlement Review Panel to issue recommendations on how to most productively use the opioid settlement funds that the county is receiving from pharmaceutical companies.
- Convening the Broadband Advisory Committee to develop recommendations for recommendations for how to attract further investment to improve broadband internet service in Kenosha County’s underserved areas. That panel held its first official meeting last week.
- Launching the Kenosha County Veterans Honor Portal, an online tool that provides easy access to an array of information of interest to veterans and others in the community. The portal and its signature features — the Kenosha County Veterans Tribute Trail and the Veterans Honor Registry — is available at https://www.kenoshacounty.org/veteransportal.
- Holding a Budget Vision Session jointly with the County Board, so that supervisors can make their priorities known early in the upcoming year’s budget process. The first such event is scheduled for April 25.
“These items are among the many things that have crossed my desk over the last year,” Kerkman said. “As Year 2 begins, I remain optimistic about the future of Kenosha County, and I look forward to working with our partners inside and outside of county government to continue building on what we’ve accomplished together.”
Kerkman will further outline her priorities for the county in her State of the County address to the County Board, scheduled to occur May 16.
More information about the County Executive’s Office, including its roles and responsibilities, is available at https://www.kenoshacounty.org/144/County-Executive.