Nov. 22, 2002 – Sen. David Jones said on Friday that the members of the new Senate majority bloc will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel to announce the organization of the 25th Legislature.
On Friday morning, Jones accepted congratulations on his re-election to the Senate but remained mum about his role in the new Democratic Party majority. "Oh, you're congratulating me on my re-election to the Senate — thank you," he said with a smile.
Although the release announcing the press conference was printed on Jones's Senate letterhead, he was not acknowledging congratulations on his widely assumed new role as president of the body.
With his tiny office on the outside of the Legislature Building on St. Thomas abuzz with telephone calls and faxes, Jones did allow that a more roomy enclosure with inside access would be something to look forward to. As, he said, the new Democrat-dominated Senate will be. "We can all work together now and accomplish something," he said.
Eight senatorial candidates who ran as Democrats — Douglas Canton, Jones, Ronald Russell and Luther Renee on St. Croix and Lorraine Berry, Roosevelt David, Louis Hill and Shawn-Michael Malone — were victorious in the Nov. 5 elections, assuring the party a majority in the 15-member Legislature. According to knowledgeable sources, at least one other senator, and possibly as many as three, will be allied with those eight as well.
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