I check in on the territory I was raised in nearly every week. Two recent editorials — one by former Sen. Janelle Sarauw and one by Dwight Cartier — confirmed something I’d already feared: much of what ails the Virgin Islands is still with us.

As someone who lives in the Metro-DC area but is still very much a Virgin Islander at heart, I don’t romanticize home. I’m not urging people to return for the next fish fry. At my age, reliable healthcare is not optional: I’m diabetic and grateful I don’t need dialysis, but I need care I can count on. I can live without air conditioning; I cannot live without the ability to see at night, or to flush the toilet after I use it.

These are not petty complaints. They are the daily evidence of a system failing its people: unreliable water and power, crater-sized potholes that ruin cars and block emergency access, schools without up-to-date technology, and a health environment that lags behind what any community should expect. When people say “come home,” are they saying “come home to better healthcare, infrastructure, and a future our children can depend on?” Right now, the data and the lived experience do not support that promise.

I’m encouraged that new voices are stepping up. I spoke with Dwight Cartier recently and came away convinced he represents the kind of change we need: practical, people-focused, and willing to spotlight what we’ve overlooked. Small things matter — why don’t we mark the island’s heroes? St. Croix is the birthplace of an NBA Hall of Famer and of Henry Rohlsen, an original Tuskegee Airman. Other islands put cultural markers and pride on display; we should, too. Pride in our history and role models helps build civic confidence.

But pride alone won’t fix structural problems. Too often contracts, bids and fiduciary actions are decided by proximity and bloodlines, not competence. In a small community, family ties are natural — but they must not be a substitute for merit. Malfeasance and misfeasance are worse when the public stays silent because the person at fault is “one of ours.” We need transparent procurement, clear accountability, and an insistence on competence.

We cannot keep putting all our eggs in tourism’s basket. Tourism is vital, but it’s brittle: a global downturn, a storm, or a single company pulling back can devastate livelihoods overnight. St. Croix — and the Virgin Islands as a whole — must diversify with an industrial and agricultural strategy, plus blue economy and renewable energy manufacturing. We must find practical uses for the island’s waste stream: convert the dump into a source of clean energy, stop poisoning our land and water, and turn liabilities into jobs. Contaminated sites and a legacy refinery footprint are not abstract problems — they affect people’s health, contribute to high healthcare costs, and make doing business harder.

We face high living costs and high energy and healthcare bills. When electricity and medical care rank among the most expensive in the nation, families feel the squeeze in ways that statistical charts don’t fully capture. When a community’s health metrics are alarmingly low, there’s a reason: environmental contamination, limited local food production, and infrastructure gaps all play a role.

This is not a partisan screed. I have voted only four times in my life — for causes I believed would bring meaningful change. I voted for change then, and I believe we need a new infusion of leaders now. That includes people like Dwight Mike Cartier and leaders like former Sen. Janelle Sarauw, both of whom merit being known and evaluated by the public. Meet them. Question them. Learn from them. If we continue to re-elect the same people, with the same habits, the same committees that produce no results, nothing will change.

Elections are about evidence. Every time you can’t wash your clothes safely, when you can’t flush your toilet, when a neighbor’s yard is overrun by an invasive species because response is slow or absent — that’s evidence. Res ipsa loquitur: the facts speak for themselves. They tell us that business as usual is unacceptable.

If you’re a Virgin Islander, especially those living off-island: your perspective matters. If you’re at home: your vote and your voice matter. When candidates come to your neighborhood, take the time to meet them. Ask hard questions. Demand plans that go beyond slogans — plans for industry, for local food production, for transparent contracting, for converting waste into energy, and for healthcare that is accessible and affordable.

Change begins with attention, then accountability. Let the evidence guide our choices this election year.

— Albert Gibbs, Metro-DC