KENOSHA, Wis. — One of the most powerful figures in Kenosha County government is stepping down, and the person stepping in looks less like change and more like continuity.

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County Executive Samantha Kerkman has announced that longtime Human Services Director John Jansen will retire after 37 years with the county, including 18 years leading the department. In his place, Kerkman has appointed Rebecca Dutter, a longtime insider within the same agency, to take over on an interim basis pending County Board confirmation.

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John Jansen has been one of the most powerful bureaucrats in Kenosha County government for decades, controlling massive portions of taxpayer-funded services through Human Services. His retirement should have been a clear opportunity for a reset.

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Instead, it looks like more of the same.

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Kerkman spent more than 22 years in the Wisconsin Legislature as a Republican, voting the party line for two decades and doing what Republican leadership told her to do. When she ran for county executive in 2022 against Democrat Rebecca Matoska-Mentink, she leaned into that identity when it suited her.

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But on the night she won, she told this outlet not to highlight the fact that she was the first Republican county executive in Kenosha County history.

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The very next morning, she went on Fox News and bragged about exactly that.

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And the interview? It didn’t exactly inspire confidence. She looked disheveled, like her lipstick was put on in the dark, and she seemed completely unprepared to answer even basic questions.

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That wasn’t a one-off moment. It was a preview.

Over the last four years, Kerkman has tried to play both sides—Republican when it benefits her, something else when it doesn’t. In some ways, that strategy worked politically. She didn’t even draw an opponent in her most recent election.

But governing is a different story.

Just before she was sworn in, a Republican-majority County Board handed her sweeping authority, including the ability to remove department heads and reshape county government. It was a once-in-a-generation chance to install new leadership across departments that control most of the county’s budget and direction.

She didn’t use it.

Not once.

She didn’t fire a single department head. Not one. Instead, they’ve left on their own, slowly, over time. The far-left health director who shut down churches and essential services during COVID? Still there during her tenure. The broader leadership structure? Largely untouched.

For conservatives, that wasn’t leadership. That was self-preservation.

The comparison is simple: it would be like Donald Trump being sworn in and deciding to keep Joe Biden’s entire cabinet in place. It would make absolutely no sense, and voters would have revolted. Yet in Kenosha County, that’s essentially what happened—and because Kerkman shows up to the occasional Republican fundraiser, many still treat her like she’s one of them.

In reality, critics say, she’s an opportunist.

Now comes the Human Services appointment.

This was another opportunity to bring in an outsider, someone to clean up a department that has been plagued by controversy for years, particularly in areas like child welfare and protective services. Instead, Kerkman promoted from within.

Dutter has spent decades inside the system, including more than 20 years in Adult Protective Services and recent time as assistant director. That’s not reform. That’s continuity.

And the track record of the department she is inheriting—and helped lead—has already been well documented. In one case, a jury rejected neglect allegations tied to a deeply scrutinized child welfare situation, raising broader questions about the department’s judgment and investigative decisions, while critics argued leadership failed to take accountability even after the case fell apart publicly. That episode only intensified concerns about how cases are handled at the highest levels.

In another widely reported situation, disturbing conditions inside a so-called “hell house” drew public outrage after images and details exposed what critics described as systemic failures to intervene sooner. The case became a flashpoint for frustration with DCFS and Human Services leadership, with many questioning how such conditions were allowed to persist under the agency’s watch.

And in a separate controversy, county leadership faced backlash after revelations that large sums of taxpayer money were funneled through programs connected to a violent felon, sparking outrage over oversight and decision-making within Human Services. That situation further fueled the perception that those in charge were either asleep at the wheel—or worse.

And then there’s the symbolism.

At her private swearing-in ceremony, Kerkman chose Mary Kay Wagner to administer the oath—a judge widely viewed by critics as one of the most liberal to ever serve in Kenosha. For conservatives who were already questioning her direction, that choice spoke volumes.

Four years in, the pattern is clear.

Kerkman tries to toe the line, presenting herself as both Republican and Democrat depending on the audience. But to many who supported her early on, she hasn’t governed like either—she’s governed like someone focused on maintaining her position above all else.

And now, with this appointment, that approach continues.

When Dutter’s appointment goes before the County Board, don’t expect a fight. The board, now largely liberal, will almost certainly approve her. Democrats will support the pick—of course. And Republicans? They’ll likely fall in line too, continuing an unofficial pattern of rubber-stamping Kerkman’s decisions because they still believe she’s on their side.

A new boss is stepping in.

But it’s the same as the old boss.