Dear Editor:
Elected officials have a duty to be cognizant and sensitive to the views and realities confronting the electorate. I trust that public officials understand that their role is not in speaking “at the people” but rather speaking with, alongside and “for the people” who elected them.
A picture is being painted that everything in this territory is fine, and quite frankly it is not. My brothers and sisters we cannot continue to operate and accept business per usual. We cannot continue to vote for the familiar, as some have gotten complacent, and the territory is now feeling its effects.
The critical grass-roots issues and challenges we face daily, such as feeding and sustaining ourselves through the appropriate farm-to- table and appropriate agricultural programs, have been neglected and require immediate attention. The myriad of challenges faced daily include a failing healthcare system, as we have an aging population with more and more residents seeking care off island. Other challenges include our education system — the rebuilding of our schools and updating the curricula. According to Kids Count, only 22.3% of third-graders are reading on grade level, and 95% of seventh-graders are not proficient in math. Education is definitely in crisis.
Jelani Ritter on St. Croix
Plans for building a sustainable economy, outside of COVID, and using federal funds with improvements to our infrastructure are seemingly tabled. Horse racing has still not returned to The Big Island [St. Croix), leaving horse owners/trainers without a steady stream of income. These are all crucial matters that are being overlooked — all while we are paying 15 senators an annual salary upwards of $100,000; the highest paid in the country.
I said this in 2020, and I’ll say it again today: I champion accountability — plans absent of timelines, leaves no room for the aforementioned. St. Croix is in need of a forward thinking, visionary-seven who will have compassion and care for its people. Sticking with what’s familiar neither works, nor is it beneficial for the island’s advancement.
We, the people, need to see implementation and progress. We are tired of hearing about projects, and the influx of billions in federal aid coming into or are available in the territory. We are ready to see, touch, feel and experience, infrastructural upgrades and projects coming to fruition. The state of the territory or the plans for it may be at its best, but the living experience for our citizens is not.
— Jelani Ritter, St. Croix