The Elections System of the Virgin Islands is actively working to keep the community informed during the 2024 Senatorial Election season. On Tuesday night, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. partnered with the Elections System of the Virgin Islands to host a Senatorial Candidates’ Forum at the St. Croix Educational Complex High School.
Candidates who participated in the forum included Julian S. Viera, Kurt Vialet, Nereida “Nellie” Rivera O’Reilly, Clifford Joseph, and Oakland Benta. Emit Hansen, a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., moderated the forum.
The forum aimed to offer additional information about the candidate’s platform and their stance on various community issues. Questions covered topics such as improving the operations of the Water and Power Authority and addressing corruption in leadership spending.
This was not the first time for Vialet, O’Reilly, and Benta, as the three were former senators. Viera and Joseph, who have not served in the Senate seat, gave it their all in representing their platform. The questioning heated up when moderator Hansen asked about the candidates’ thoughts on how to “fix WAPA” from a senatorial point of view.
“Making sure that the sum of 600 million dollars that is available right now to fix St. Croix is used appropriately and what I would recommend as a senator is to move the WAPA plant from where it’s now to the south shore in the industrial area,” Viera said. Viera also recommends using three renewable energies: wind power, solar power, and ocean current, to generate electricity for the Virgin Islands.
Vialet disagreed with the idea of renewable energy as a solution. He stated that every member of the WAPA board should have expertise in a specific subject area, something he and other senators were striving to implement.
“Decisions were being made that were not in the best interest of the Virgin Islands,” said Vialet. “WAPA is plagued by mismanagement. So, no matter what decision is made, if you do not take care of the mismanagement, the debt continues to increase.”
O’Reilly, who is running as a write-in candidate, said, “My record is clear that I have tried to cut WAPA’s legs at the knees and it has really resulted in zero action, and I’ll tell you why because WAPA’s motto is only about enriching people in management and administration at the expense and at the backs of ratepayers.”
O’Reilly stated that this has been a 60-year problem and it will take some time to fix. She emphasized that we need to start negotiations immediately with the refinery that has the ability to generate the power to run St. Croix. “That is the conversation that needs to be happening right now,” said O’Reilly. Secondly, inquire with FEMA what type of funding they are promising to address the energy crisis on the island. Third, to clear the path for other power generators to come to the island.
The next question tackled the candidates’ stance on high-ranking officials accused of corruption.
Benta said that during his time serving in the 33rd Legislature, he moved for body members to join him in combating this behavior by taking a formative stand. “I knew in the long term the V.I. government, we’ve been placed in that category of corruption,” he said.
Benta said the Legislature recently passed a budget again while in a state of emergency in this territory. “The budget doesn’t make sense because we have not discussed how we are going to take care of the debt or how the state of emergency was executed,” he said.
Joseph stated that it is embarrassing as a Virgin Islander to see people being charged, especially given the small community. “It’s alarming to drive past Henderson School and look at the lumber and listen to different radio programs.”
“Somebody still needs to take the lead, that’s what I’m talking about building a good team. If we see a problem, we need to address the problem. We need to look forward to the people of the Virgin Islands because this is what it all boils back to. We are suffering,” Joseph said.
The hour seemed to pass quickly as some audience members vocally expressed their desire to hear more about other topics, such as the hospital and education.
To view the forum, visit the Elections System Facebook page.
As of Wednesday, the number of voters that have participated in early voting are as follows: St. Croix – 712, St. Thomas – 493, and St. John – 3, bringing it to 1,208 voters territory-wide.
Supervisor of the Elections System of the Virgin Islands Caroline Fawkes said that early voting is scheduled to continue until Oct. 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Voting centers are also open Saturdays and Sundays. Voting centers are:
- St. Croix – Elections Office-Sunny Isle Shopping Center Unit 26
- St. Thomas – Elections Office- Lockhart Gardens (above Banco Popular)
- St. John – Elections Office – The Market Place Suite II
Absentee ballots are also available. Visit the Elections System website for an application and to request an emailed absentee ballot. The General Election is Nov. 5.
