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Campaign Season Quiet So Far as Candidates File

July 25, 2008 — With barely three weeks before the Aug. 12 closing date to file petitions for a 2009 Senate seat, and another month beyond that for the primary election, the silence on the campaign front is deafening.
Nary a car's bullhorn has been heard blasting a candidate's names through the streets, with posters and fish fries similarly conspicuous in their absence. Only one building is getting spiffied up for a campaign headquarters: that of nine-term Sen. Celestino A. White Sr., who is running again along with 13 of his 27th Legislature colleagues.
Conversations at the supermarkets are mostly about how to afford the high cost of food. And that, Supervisor of Elections John Abramson Jr. said Thursday, may be a clue.
"Everybody is waiting," he said. "A long campaign costs more; waiting makes it cheaper. They are keeping expenses low."
But it's the calm before the storm, according to Abramson
"Next month they'll be coming out of the woodwork," he said. "They have to file between August 5 and August 12."
At this time in the 2006 election, excitement was rampant territory-wide as three gubernatorial teams campaigned loud and strong, passing along that energy to Senate hopefuls. People came out in record numbers for the Democratic party primary election. (See "Democrats Hope That Record-setting Turnout is Good Sign for November.")
So far, 10 Democrats have picked up nomination petitions and papers to run for a Senate seat in the St. Thomas-St. John district.
Familiar names are cropping up on both islands. On St. Thomas, Adlah Donastorg Jr., who lost his gubernatorial bid in 2006, is taking another Senate run, as well as Louis Willis, former Bureau of Internal Revenue director, who is making a first-time bid. Under Willis' watch, the BIR came in for harsh criticism from the U.S. Department of the Interior in an audit earlier this year. (See "Interior Issues Scathing Report on V.I. Tax Collection.")
Though former Sen. Lorraine Berry hasn't picked up nomination papers yet, she recently indicated she could be persuaded to pursue a 13th term. She gave flat "no" when asked, but added with a smile, "unless I'm drafted." As of July 24, she had not picked up petition papers.
Long-time cultural icon Myron D. Jackson, a Democrat, has thrown his hat in the ring for the first time.
"I have thought about this for a long time, and I decided now is the time," he said this week, remarking that he will have to take leave from his current post as director of the V.I. Cultural Heritage Institute before he files his papers.
On St. Croix, the field is crowded with 13 candidates for a Democratic party seat, among them David Jones, a former senator who lost a 2004 Senate bid.
The lone Republican picking up nomination petition papers this week is Krim Ballentine, a senatorial first-timer.
Fourteen of the 15 incumbent senators are seeking to retain their seats. St. Thomas Sen. Basil Ottley has not picked up nomination papers. Unconfirmed reports say he is leaving the territory for a government position in the States.
Requirements for a Senate seat in the Virgin Islands and in the States are not daunting. Candidates in the territory must be U.S. citizens, at least 21 years old, and must have lived in the territory for three years preceding the date of the election. In New York and several other states, applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, a resident of their state for five years, and a resident of their district for 12 months.
A V.I. candidate also must be a qualified voter and not a government employee unless on leave from his or her job. The candidate can be a convicted felon if he or she has been pardoned.
In a territory-wide race, incumbent Donna M. Christensen is running for her seventh term as delegate to Congress. She is challenged by one-term V.I. Delegate Victor Frazer, also a Democrat.
With more than seven candidates running for a Democratic party seat in each district, primary elections this year will take place Sept. 13. The deadline for returning signed petitions to the V.I. Election System is 5 p.m. Aug. 12. For a calendar of election events, click here.
Those who have picked up nomination petitions as of Thursday (incumbents marked with an asterisk):
St. Thomas Senator
Democrat
Adlah Donastorg Jr.
Louis Hill*
Myron D. Jackson
Shawn-Michael Malone*
Lisa Melchoir
Shirley M. Sadler
Simeon Sprauve
Alvin Williams*
Louis Willis
Independent Citizens Movement (ICM)
Wayne Adams
Liston Davis*
Stedman Hodge Jr.
Republican
Krim Ballentine
Unaffiliated
Dwayne Callwood
Moses Carty
Dolores Clendenin
Carlton Dowe*
Stephen Frett
William B. Thompson Jr.
Celestino A. White Sr.*
Lisa Williams
St. Croix Senator
Democrat
Sherry Mae Barnes
Glenn Brown
Diane Capehart
Neville James*
David Jones
Terrence D. Joseph
Troy Mason
Ronald Russell*
Sammuel Sanes
Juan Figueroa-Serville*
Lee Seward Jr.
Michael Thurland
James Webber III*
Republican
Dwain Ford
ICM
Naomi Joseph
George Moore
Terrence "Positive" Nelson*
Usie Richards*
Unaffiliated
Norman Jn Baptiste*
Samuel Flemming
Bernard Hamilton
Gonzalo Rivera
Iotha Ineta Thomas
Territory-Wide
Delegate to Congress
Donna M. Christensen (D)
Victor Frazer (D)
Senator-at-Large
Carmen Wesselhoft (ICM)*
Harry Daniel (D)
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