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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsLocal newsMosler Says 'No' to Mapp; Running Mate Fonseca Says 'Yes'

Mosler Says ‘No’ to Mapp; Running Mate Fonseca Says ‘Yes’

Warren Mosler and Ray Fonseca (Facebook)

Fourth-place gubernatorial candidate Warren Mosler came out strongly against Gov. Kenneth Mapp in a statement on his Facebook page while his running mate, Ray Fonseca, recently endorsed Mapp.

“While I see no merits to either candidate in the Nov. 20. runoff, I continue to advise against voting for Gov. Mapp under any circumstances due to the serious risk that he will find joy in turning against all of us the way some children find joy in pulling the wings off of insects,” Mosler wrote on Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, the Mapp campaign has issued a release trumpeting the endorsement of Mosler’s running mate, Ray Fonseca, “”(f)ollowing meetings with Gov. Mapp and his team.”

With Mapp, an independent, facing off against Democrat Albert Bryan in a runoff gubernatorial election Nov. 20, endorsements from the losing candidates might tip the election one way or the other.

As of the last official release, Thursday evening, Bryan had 9,539 votes and 37.93 percent, to Mapp’s 8,479 and 33.71 percent. That’s a difference of 1,060 votes.

Adlah H. Donastorg, in a photo from his website.
Adlah H. Donastorg, in a photo from his website.

Third-place finisher Adlah “Foncie” Donastorg and running-mate Sen. Alicia “Chucky” Hansen received 4,116 votes, or 6.36 percent of voters. Mosler/Fonseca are at 1,188 votes, or 4.66 percent. If those voters are relatively evenly split, that is still enough to overcome Bryan’s lead or cement it in place, depending on how they swing. The same goes for fifth-place independent Soraya Diase Coffelt’s 1,173 votes. So while Bryan’s widening lead may be suggestive, this race can still easily go either way.

Donastorg has not indicated publicly what he would like to do. He has ignored all requests from the Source for comment throughout the campaign and his Facebook page gives no hint.

Hansen posted recently on her Facebook page that she has not yet decided.

Alicia "Chucky" Hansen (File photo)
Alicia “Chucky” Hansen (File photo)

“I know that their has been much speculation about me supporting both gubernatorial candidates, I want to make it clear that as of today I have not committed to either team. I believe that the people of this territory are too precious to just make such a decision overnight. I want all my diehard supporters to know that I appreciate you waiting on my guidance,” Hansen wrote.

Fonseca strongly endorsed Mapp, saying the incumbent governor handled the aftermath of last year’s hurricanes well. He also promised Mapp will fix the government pension crisis.

“I can assure you the GERS will be in good hands and that no retirement benefits will be cut and no contributions will increase,” Fonseca said. There is no proposal or plan or publicly aired idea in existence presently under which Fonseca’s promise is a possible outcome. Right now, the pension is projected to be bankrupt by 2024 and be forced to cut benefits by around 50 percent.

Mapp’s proposals so far could, under the highest revenue projections from an as-yet uncertain partial refinery restart, delay that collapse by up to five years, if the revenues make a high rate of return on investment and also the Legislature acts immediately on reforms Mapp proposed earlier this year. If revenues are in the mid-range of projections, GERS would be extended only by months. The Legislature has not acted on Mapp’s most recent pension reform proposals.

Fonseca also supports Mapp as a check on the Democratic Party.

“Our system of government needs checks and balances. The Democratic Party now has a super, super majority in our (Virgin Islands) Legislature and can override and pass any law they see fit. The Democratic Party has absolute power and control over our government, and this should be balanced.”

He also raises the specter of mass layoffs if Bryan wins.

“Our island cannot afford the Bryan/Roach team conducting wholesale terminations of hardworking individuals for no cause,” Fonseca writes.

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7 COMMENTS

  1. In what universe is Fonseca’s claim that GERS “will be in good hands and that no retirement benefits will be cut and no contributions will increase” make any sense at all? In this universe, Fonseca’s running mate, Warren Mosler (whom is best qualified to deliver on that assertion, imo), did not get elected. Fonseca should return his crystal ball to K-Mart.

    If it weren’t for a pair of killer CAT5 hurricanes last year and all the money that the USVI’s sugar daddy mainland fed subsequently brought into the territory, the territory might be belly-up by now. The problem is, we’ll run out of mainland taxpayer money fairly soon and neither Mapp nor Bryan are best qualified to deal. Then what?

    And now, neither Mapp nor Bryan wish to debate details of their “plans.” Great. The status quo is, yet once again, alive and well in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Two more years of this crap and no long-term plan in place.

  2. Or, Mosler, he could be more like you and waste his time on exotic autos (I read you recently sold that exotic business) instead of actually doing something that is worthwhile. We don’t need more elitists in high places. In fact, we need less, because elitists cannot OVERstand the average human being, and what elitists propose is usually not in the best interests of the planet, and it is not sustainable. Money is all you think about, and we need folks that actually think about common sense and how to create a sustainable way of living instead of constant growth. Just how much growth do you think these small islands and the world can sustain?

  3. I’m pretty sure that GERS pension recipients think a lot about money, and more specifically, the security their pensions will provide in the future. Money is a tool, like a shovel, and I personally don’t think much about it outside of the viability of my own retirement. GERS pensioners are very aware about the importance of their pension money as a tool for survival in the future.

    It is very convenient to throw stones at a so-called “elitist” whom also happens to be an expert in finance, business and economics. Mosler is crazy rich because he earned it. So that makes him a bad guy? C’mon man, Mosler, chose to live here and with his entry into this election offer to help bring prosperity to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Unfortunately, most Virgin Islanders took a pass on that offer.

    As for what growth these islands can sustain, you have to think outside of the box and transform the opportunities for outside investment and business opportunities. Selling t-shirts and rum isn’t going to cut it. I’ll leave it to Mosler to answer your questions directly. I get what he’s trying to do. It’s too bad that most voting Virgin Islanders are willing to settle with the status quo.

    Oh well. Peace, my brother.

    • It was paradise at one time, but like pretty much every other place on the planet, it has been taken over by America’s plague, which is full of war. weapons and addiction to all things. We are merely reaping what we have been sowing. We have all been complacent as the beast grew, and didn’t care if it happened in other neighborhoods as long as it didn’t happen in our neighborhoods. Well, now it is on everyone’s front door, even those that live behind large security gates, which is probably what it will take to make real change happen. When those at the top are affected, we might just get someone to do something about it.