Dear Source:
Outrageous, outrageous, outrageous!
Not what I said early this morning when I went as usual to The Source and read that, courtesy of our outgoing Governor, Senators will now make $85K per annum instead of $65K and that the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor (oh please, retroactive to October 1st so they get a bounty upon leaving office!) will now receive respectively $150K/year versus $80K/year with the Lieutenant Governor making $125K/year versus $95K/year.
I truly thought that this "special Senate session" would result in a naysay for the bills proposed by the outgoing Governor. Silly me.
And fie upon those Senators who voted with an aye. I don't know much about them and their thoughts but you incumbents who gave a yes had better watch your step in the future because eyes are going to be upon you.
Lord alive, our Virgin Islands senators at $65K/year are among the highest paid of any legislative body under the U.S. flag. And yet the votes of Lorraine Berry, Roosevelt David, Pedro Encarcion, Juan Figuero-Seville, Lous Hill, Norman Baptiste, and Ronald Russell prevailed in passing this all-encompassing last-minute bill to raise these salaries. Shame upon you! It's so bloody rotten and my initial response was MUCH worse than, "outrageous, outrageous, outrageous!" I sort of thought that the elected representatives of the people were responsible to the electorate? I also think that the electorate spoke out a few years ago about senator's salaries and I recollect that the popular voice also voted via a referendum to reduce the number of senators? The latter was shot down big time. I'm just an absorber and observer.
Anna Clarke
St. Thomas
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