A winning candidate for the Board of Elections challenged a Superior Court Judge as he officiated over a swearing-in ceremony for new and incumbent board candidates on Monday. The dispute arose on Three Kings Day as Judge Alphonso Andrews administered the oath of office to three St. Croix board members.
Swearing-in ceremonies formalize the role of candidates who have won their elections as they become or continue as public servants. In a video statement posted to social media on Monday, candidate Cleopatra Peter said she asked Andrews to set a new date for her to take the oath.
The reason, she said, was that the first Monday in January after the election is set by the V.I. Code for swearing in Board of Elections members, this particular Monday was not the right one.
“This is an official holiday,” she said in the video post, citing a separate statute of the code that said inducting public officials on Sundays and holidays was prohibited. An administrator at the Elections System of the Virgin Islands said it would be up to the judge to set a new date.
“Cleopatra Peter was present but requested to have her swearing-in rescheduled, citing the V.I. Code,” said Executive Assistant Richard Wilson. Incumbent Board Member Lilliana Bellardo de O’Neal and winning first-term candidate Cornelius JnBaptiste also appeared at the Monday ceremony and took their oaths of office, Wilson said.
So did first-time candidates Chaneel Callwood and Barbara LaRonde and veteran Board Member Lawrence Boschulte. They took their oaths on Three Kings Day on St. Thomas.
St. Croix incumbent Board Member Michael Joseph was also scheduled to take his oath Monday but stayed away for health reasons. His induction will also be rescheduled, Wilson said.
When asked to share his thoughts on Monday’s events, former Board of Elections Chair Raymond Williams declined to mention Peter by name. “They have their opinion and they’re entitled. I literally have no comment,” Williams said.
An attempt to reach sitting Elections Board Chair Alecia Wells for comment was unsuccessful.
