Elections offices on St. Thomas were abuzz with excitement Tuesday, as workers and officials busied themselves with handling last-minute candidate filings and scores of voter registrations — many of which were individuals coming in to change their party affiliation in order to vote in next month’s primary election.
Tuesday was the deadline for candidate petitions, and officials were up late into the night doing a preliminary review of the paperwork, checking everything from the signatures on their petitions to whether they meet local residency requirements.
The work is laborious — every name that appears on a candidate’s petition must be checked in Elections’ electronic registry, just to make sure that person is first eligible to vote; and second, voting according to their party. The same process applies to the candidates.
According to Board of Elections District Chairwoman Lorna Thomas, the system has a list of specifics that each candidate has to meet, and officials will spend the next three days checking for "defects" in the petitions and contacting the candidates to get them fixed.
Not all the names that emerged Tuesday night will be on the official ballot during the General Election, however. Thomas also said that candidates have until later in the month to withdraw their petitions, while others will be eliminated during the Sept. 11 Democratic primary.
Both districts combined have five teams vying for governor and lieutenant governor — three of which will face off against Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Lt. Gov. Gregory R. Francis in next month’s primary. In this year’s Senate race, all incumbents — except for Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, who’s running for governor — appear to be running for another term, alongside a large number of newcomers and a few repeat challengers hoping to slip into a seat.
On St. Thomas-St. John, a total 27 individuals have filed petitions for district senator, while five are running for senator-at-large. On St. Croix, a total 27 petitions have been filed for district senator. Meanwhile, Delegate Donna Christensen appears to have two challengers vying for the territory’s congressional seat — neither of which will appear on the ballot until the General Election in November.
Also on the ballot this year are candidates for open Board of Elections slots and Democratic Party seats, which range from state/district chair to territorial and district committee members.
As of the 5 p.m. deadline, petitions were filed for:
St. Thomas-St. John District (listed in order of filing time)
Governor
John deJongh Jr. and Gregory Francis (Democrat)
Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Samuel Baptiste (Democrat)
James O’Bryan Jr. and Pamela Richards Samuel (Democrat)
Delegate to Congress
Vincent E. Danet (Republican)
District Senator
Alvin Williams (Democrat, Incumbent)
Celestino A. White Sr. (No Party, Incumbent)
Wayne "Facts Man" Adams (ICM)
Patricia Thompson (Democrat)
Louis P. Hill (Democrat, Incumbent)
Kent Bernier Sr. (Democrat)
Allron O. Monsanto (Democrat)
Patrick Simeon Sprauve (Democrat, Incumbent)
Tregenza A. Roach (No Party)
Darryl E. Williams Sr. (No Party)
Elvin R. Fahie Sr. (No Party)
Shawn-Michael Malone (Democrat, Incumbent)
Raphael "Raphy" Corneiro (No Party)
Stephen "Smoky" Frett (ICM)
Simon Kevin Caines (Democrat)
Shirley Sadler (No Party)
Janette Millin Young (Democrat)
Dolores Todmann (No Party)
Dwayne A. Callwood (No Party)
Paul Alexander (No Party)
Clarence Payne (Democrat)
Carlton "Ital" Dowe (Democrat, Incumbent)
Horace T. Brooks (No Party)
Moses Carty Sr. (Democrat)
Lisa Williams (No Party)
Stedman Hodge Jr (Democrat)
Joseph Gumbs (No Party)
Senator At Large
Craig Barshinger (Democrat, Incumbent)
Lorelei Monsanto (Independent)
Ronnie E. Jones (Democrat)
Gilmore A. Estrill, Sr. (Democrat)
Alecia Wells (No Party)
St. Croix District (listed in order of filing time)
Governor
Gerard Luz James II and Glen J. Smith (Democrat)
Kenneth E. Mapp and Malik Sekou (No Party)
Delegate to Congress
Donna M. Christensen (Democrat, Incumbent)
Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead (No Party)
District Senator
Samuel Flemming (No Party)
Neville James (Democrat, Incumbent)
Wayne "Bully" Petersen (No Party)
Pedro "Pei" Cruz (Democrat)
Sammuel Sanes (Democrat, Incumbent)
Usie R. Richards (ICM, Incumbent)
Lee A. Seward Jr. (No Party)
James A. Weber III (Democrat)
George Moore (ICM)
Ronald E. Russell (Democrat)
Michael J. Springer Jr. (No Party)
Naomi Joseph (ICM)
Verdel L. Petersen (Democrat)
Sherryann A. Wiltshire (Democrat)
Norman Jn Baptiste (No Party)
Terrence "Positive" Nelson (ICM, Incumbent)
Michael Thurland (Democrat, Incumbent)
Kendall Petersen (ICM)
Troy Mason (Democrat)
Diane Capehart (Democrat)
Wayne A.G. James (Democrat, Incumbent)
Bradford Nugent (Democrat)
Myron A. Allick (No Party)
Nereida Rivera O’Reilly (No Party, Incumbent)
Alicia "Chucky" Hansen (No Party)
Judi Fricks (No Party)
John F. Tutien (Democrat)