CHRISTIANSTED — Former Sen. Kurt Vialet made a triumphant return to the V.I. Legislature, topping the list of seven senators poised to take a seat in the 36th Legislature.
Vialet did not seek a seat in the 35th Legislature to run for Government House, but was unsuccessful in that bid.
Tuesday night, when the unofficial tally of votes was announced, Vialet was first with 4,825. He was followed by newcomer and former Fire Service Director Clifford A. Joseph with 3,771.
The other senators rounding out the seven representatives for the St. Croix District were incumbent senators Kenneth Gittens with 3,354 votes, and Franklin Joseph with 3,280; newcomer Hubert L. Frederick with 3,201, and incumbent senator, Marise C. James, with 3,071.
Two incumbent senators — Diane T. Capehart and Samuel “Sam” Carrion — placed eighth and ninth with 2,857 and 2,779, respectively. Absentee votes are scheduled to be counted today, but it doesn’t appear that would be enough to change the outcome of the placement of candidates.
Early Tuesday, while out on the campaign trail, Vialet was optimistic.
“We made sure that we had good representation during early voting by consistently being on the radio, canvassing in the community, and we had a sound-truck going into the neighborhoods,” he said. “Today is a big day. We have about 16 to 17 volunteers at each of the voting sites. I am feeling very good. I am getting a lot of positive feedback from individuals who are coming in to vote. I am expecting to have a good night tonight.”
He did, and so did Joseph, who also was optimistic before the votes were tallied.
“The campaign is going pretty well. The pulse of the community today was positive,” he said. “… People really came out to be a part of the action. I am looking forward to a positive reaction and I’m ready to serve with the other colleagues regardless of who they are. I am committed to serve the people of the Virgin Islands, especially St. Croix.”
Former Sen. Nereida Nellie O’Reilly, who sought office as a write-in candidate and reportedly registered over 100 ways to spell her name to ensure a seat in the 37th Legislature, was unsuccessful in her bid. Earlier on Tuesday she was optimistic telling the Daily News “The campaign is going really great.”
“It’s a write-in campaign, we are not on the ballot, but I think our message has resonated across the district of St. Croix,” she said. “We are excited and whatever the outcome is, we will be at peace with it. This campaign has had the most write-in candidates I have ever seen.”
In addition to voting for candidates to the V.I. Legislature, voters also cast ballots for candidates to the Board of Education, Board of Elections and the Sixth Constitutional Convention.
Organizations to include the AARP and the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands also had their own campaign of sorts.
AARP State Director Troy de Chabert-Schuster wrote to residents asking that they vote for candidates who will work on their behalf noting “families dealing with the loss of loved ones are forced to endure long, expensive, and emotionally taxing probate processes — often adding undue burden for those who have already lost so much.”
The Superior Court, he wrote, ended 2023 “with nearly 1,000 cases pending. What’s worse, some of these cases date back to 40+ years, leaving families in limbo for decades. Intended heirs wait years, even generations, to receive their rightful inheritance.”
The solution is simple, he added, noting that the “AARP is calling for the establishment of a dedicated probate court to work exclusively to clear the backlog and reduce the time to settle probate matters.”
“We need elected leaders who will take a stand for justice and financial security for Virgin Islanders, by supporting the creation of a probate court. Your vote can make this a reality,” he said.
DRCVI Executive Director Angus Drigo was among the organizations staff present at the Central High School distributing surveys on the accessibility of polling stations.
More than 500 surveys were completed by voters, and about 100 more were completed online.
“We wanted to ascertain the accessibility of polling stations, how difficult it was to get to the building to vote, the ease of parking, whether there were signs posted about voting and available staff to provide assistance,” Drigo said.
According to national statistics, people with disabilities make up the largest voting bloc as one in four persons have a disability. DRCVI will review the responses and make recommendations to the Elections System of the Virgin Islands, Drigo said.
“We’ve collaborated with them in the past so we will share the information we gathered,” he said.
Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes reported that at least 50 percent of registered voters took part in this year’s election. Elections officials had hoped to increase that percentage to 60 but was satisfied that it was the same percentage as 2020. She added that more voters on St. Croix cast ballots during the early voting period than on St. Thomas. The opposite was true for St. Thomas in the last election.
While Election Day went smoothly overall, supporters of St. Croix Senate candidate Jelani Ritter — who placed 11th in the race — and Vialet got into a scuffle outside the Central High School polling station early Tuesday afternoon. There were no arrests in that incident.
There was also an incident at the polling center at Claude O. Markoe school on St. Croix, which ended with Board of Education candidate Mary Moorhead being escorted out of the building in handcuffs by Virgin Islands Police.
Sgt. Kirk Fieulleteau, who oversaw security at St. Croix voting sites, said in a statement provided to The Daily News that Moorhead wanted to put her paper ballot in a ballot box, and refused the options provided to her by polling staff.
Moorhead refused to leave the site, and Fieulleteau “gave her a lawful order to leave the premises on your own,” to avoid disrupting other voters.
When she continued to refuse, Fieulleteau said police placed her in handcuffs and “she was detained and removed from the premises because she refused to comply with the orders made by the Board of Elections, and she refused to leave on her own.”
Police said Moorhead was not arrested or charged with a crime.
Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes said in an email that police informed her that Moorhead “left without incident.”
The Daily News contacted Moorhead by phone Tuesday, and she declined to comment.
By PETRA VICTOR/Virgin Islands Daily News
— Daily News staff Suzanne Carlson and Eunice Bedminster contributed to this report.
