Little squabbles broke out after a suspended St. Thomas-St. John Board of Elections member showed up to Thursday’s district meeting, but after the police were called, things calmed down and the board was able to tackle its general election agenda.
District board members voted last month to suspend Wilma Marsh-Monsanto for “willfully” not attending meetings in August that were called to certify the primary election. According to the board’s resolution, which was unanimously approved during the last district meeting, Marsh-Monsanto is suspended until Nov. 15. The board also recommended that her dereliction of duties be “referred to the attorney general for further action.”
The dereliction of duties refers, in the resolution, to Marsh-Monsanto’s “deliberate” refusal to attend two special meetings called in August to certify the primary. In a complaint filed on Aug. 19, Marsh-Monsanto had said her reasons for not attending the meetings was so she could abstain from the process for “her own legal protection.”
Marsh-Monsanto has said publicly that she will not only keep coming to the meetings, but that she would Mace anyone that tried to kick her out. No Mace was used Thursday, but Marsh-Monsanto did come prepared with subpoenas for each of her fellow board members, who might now have to go to court to argue why the two August meetings weren’t illegal.
Board members did call the police on Marsh-Monsanto after she refused to sit in the crowd during Thursday’s meeting instead of at the table with everyone else, but in the end, she was allowed to stay in the room without participating directly in any board actions.
With that settled, board members began discussions on various general elections issues, including a letter recently sent to Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes from gubernatorial candidate Kenn Mapp and running mate Osbert Potter. In the letter, the Mapp-Potter team raised questions about general elections procedures – from how absentee votes and early walk-ins are handled to how the voting machine jump drives are stored – that prompted District Board Chairman Arturo Watlington Jr. to look at scheduling a candidates meeting to address similar concerns from all five camps.
Elections staff have given a tentative date this month for the meeting, which still has to be finalized.
In other news, board members:
– spoke about the $116,000 recently alloted to the system for district operations during the first quarter of the new fiscal year. While many said the amount wasn’t enough to cover salaries and the general election, Fawkes explained that the amount should soon increase to $350,000;
– said that Guy Benjamin School on St. John, which was recently closed, will be used as as polling site during the general election. Board members said they will also have to look at whether Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School can still be used, since one of the air conditioning units in the cafeteria isn’t working;
– scheduled a voting machine testing session for Saturday and said meetings for election workers will begin next week at the Tutu Park Mall on St. Thomas;
– and discussed the possibility of having to prepare for a run-off election in November. Board members said that the last election with give gubernatorial candidates ended in a run-off and the board has to be prepared in case it happens again.
Board members also said that early voting will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Monday through Oct. 31. First time voters must bring identification.
