May 24, 2007 – The US Virgin Islands is set to make history once again. Developing a constitution will bring about real change and put the destiny of the US Virgin Islands in the hands of its people. It is both an honor and a privilege that I would have an opportunity to serve as a district delegate to the Fifth Constitutional Convention. In my own humble opinion, this would be the greatest service anyone could offer to the people of the US Virgin Islands. This is the reason that I am vying for a seat.
If given the opportunity to serve as a delegate, there are many issues I would like to advocate:
· Sub-districting: I believe that by electing senators based on sub-districts they can more efficiently serve the interests of the people who elected them. There are currently 20 sub-districts in the US Virgin Islands and I believe that each one of those sub-districts should have a representative in the Senate.
· Environmental Protection: Living in a clean and safe environment should be regarded as a basic human right. By recognizing this in our constitution we would have the ability to impose harsher restrictions on those to seek to impinge on those rights. One great step towards this goal would be mandating that the Division of Environmental Protection become a semiautonomous agency allowing it to effectively regulate both the public and private sector.
· Freedom of Information: No senate meeting should ever be closed doors (at least television or radio coverage) and all documents produced by government agencies should be considered public information except under very special circumstances (e.g. impinging on individuals right to privacy, protecting trade secrets).
· Public Education: The constitution should include an amendment providing high quality, free education for the US Virgin Islands youth from kindergarten to high school. This amendment should include requirements for maintaining high quality education and appropriate student-teacher ratios for lower, middle and high school. A pledge requiring support of the University of the Virgin Islands and its endeavors should also be included.
· Defining "Native US Virgin Islander": It is crucial that this definition be included. This definition need not be divisive. It would not affect the rights of US citizens who wish to make their home in the territory or naturalized US citizens. This definition will allow for the protection of the people who have a long and vested history in the US Virgin Islands from factors that would seek to displace or discriminate against them.
Above all, I realize that my primary duty as a delegate to the Fifth Constitutional Convention would be to listen to the people of the US Virgin Islands. This convention should have as much public input as possible and all comments and suggestions put forth should be considered. This will ensure that when we are ready to vote for our constitution next year it will have the full support of the public.
For more information about me and my platform, visit my Web site at http://www.vihistory.com.
