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Gov. Turnbull to have seven challengers |
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By John Collins (1)
"Deadline for filing in USVI passed with another team
emerging; no Sept. primary for governor slate." |
The
August 13 deadline for filing as a candidate in the Nov. 5 general elections in
the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) passed with only a few changes as previously
reported (CB Aug. 1).
 In
the race for governor and lieutenant governor, seven teams emerged to challenge
Gov. Charles Wesley Turnbull and his running mate, Vargrave Richards in
November. The Turnbull-Richards ticket is the only Democratic one, while the
team of Michael Bornn and Arnold Golden is Republican. All the other teams are
independent including that of Gerard Luz James II, the current lieutenant
governor, and his running mate, Maryleen Thomas. James ran as a Democrat with
Turnbull in 1998 but declined to challenge him this time in the Democratic
primary in September.
One
additional team of independents emerged by the deadline filing date, that of
Sen. Alicia Hansen of St. Croix and her running mate, Eddie Donoghue of St.
Thomas.
Another
change in the lineup previously reported was that the only Hispanic candidate,
Miguel Camacho of St. Croix, withdrew his candidacy “for personal reasons.” As
the deadline for filing approached he was replaced by Kelvin Gonzalez Sr. of St.
Croix, another Hispanic.
Although
this is the largest number of candidates to ever file for the two highest
offices in the USVI, the list would have been even bigger if two other
gubernatorial candidates had not previously withdrawn from the race. One was a
Republican and the other an independent.
In another
contest, that for USVI Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, incumbent
Dr. Donna Christensen, a Democrat, is being challenged by three other
candidates, a Republican, a member of the Independent Citizens Movement (ICM),
and an independent. Christensen, who is completing her third term, is expected
to win handily.
The USVI
Legislature has 15 seats and it’s a free-for-all contest to select the
candidacies for them. Seven of the seats are reserved for St. Croix, another
seven for St. Thomas-St. John, and the remaining seat, reserved for a resident
of St. John, is selected by the voters of all three islands.
A ‘free-for-all’ in the Senate race
A total of
22 candidates, including incumbents running for reelection, filed in St. Croix
of which 12 are Democrats, three Republicans, two members of the ICM and the
balance of five independents.
In the
district of St. Thomas-St. John a total of 23 candidacies, including incumbents
running for reelection. There are 14 independents, seven Democrats and two
independents.
In the
contest for the At large seat from St. John, there are three challengers to the
incumbent, Sen. Almando Liburd, a member of the ICM. Among the other three are a
Republican, a Democrat and an independent, but predictions are that Liburd will
easily be reelected.
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1)
Other articles by the well known Caribbean author John Collins can be read
at:
www.pymesdominicanas.com
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(ICCAP) Any reproduction in part or whole is strictly forbidden without the authors written authorization
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September 23, 2002
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