Oct. 28, 2002 – With St. Croix businesses feeling the effects of last spring's pullout of three cruise lines because of crime and low demand for the destination, the promise of a long, difficult season is giving residents pause as to which political candidates are best equipped to help change things for the better.
Hugh Dalton, producer of the Harbour Night cultural arts events that used to be staged twice a month on evenings when cruise ships were in port in Frederiksted, said his organization is going to take a public stand.
"Since the cruise ship pullout, I have been receiving calls almost daily asking me to do something," he said. "My answer was 'What can I do?' I am not a part of the government, and have no decision in its direction."
However, Dalton, who also is the owner of the Dalton and Associates advertising and public relations agency in Frederiksted, has decided to place ads next weekend in the territory's two print daily newspapers listing the candidates endorsed by the Harbour Night organization for the Nov. 5 elections.
"Basically, it's input from a lot of people," he said. "A focused choice of selecting our political representatives will give us a chance to have input and then to let the elected officials know that from now on, you will be expected to perform and be evaluated every day, and it will be made public."
Dalton said he would not reveal the selected candidates until Friday, but he said the list comprises politicians who have supported Harbour Night in the past. "Primarily it's those people we feel can get something done, although they may not be the most politically savvy," he said. Candidates' priorities must be education, economic development, health care and crime, he said.
"What we're trying to do is mix leadership with some political naivete. If we can't have a different election process, let's still try to make them accountable," he said, referring to a stalled effort by Citizens for Legislative Reform, a group he is active in, to implement numbered seating in the Senate through the initiative process.
Dalton said the Harbour Night list will include an "unbiased" look at both incumbents and challengers for each territorywide and St. Croix district race. "Some of them were not friends," he said, adding that the candidates themselves will find out in the ads who made the cut.
"I have no personal relationships with any of them," he said. "I will probably make some enemies, but the integrity I have in doing this can't be questioned."
Dalton, who will be leaving the island shortly for medical reasons, said he will monitor the track records of the successful candidates monthly. He said Crucians must hold themselves accountable for "making it happen" and have a real reason for voting representatives in or out.
"The private-sector citizens must stay involved," he said. Even though public officials "work for us, we must give them daily direction."
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