Former Senator Celestino White: ‘Just Working With The Transition Team’

Former St. Thomas Senator Celestino A. White, who has also worked with past administrations and is currently the co-chair of the Mapp administration’s transition team, has said that while he is helping Governor-elect Kenneth Mapp, who he considers a personal friend, set up the new government that will lead the Virgin Islands from January 5, 2015, he will not seek a position in the administration.

White made the remarks while speaking to VI Consortium after a press conference Mapp held last Friday at the WTJX-TV studios in St. Thomas to introduce the public to some members of his cabinet and those whom would be at the helm of the transitioning from the current government to the next.

When asked about the position he now holds as co-chair of the transition team, White said, “What position? I’m just working with the transition team. I did 42 years of government, [and] I don’t want to be paid for my services or anything.”

White also said he would continue to focus on his consulting company, Celestino A. White Sr., Consulting and Management Firm, a business that, according to its website, specializes in “simplifying complex governmental issues and solving problems, proactively informing you of matters affecting your industry, and providing effective, measurable and favorable results.” Some of the firm’s clients include, Coral World Ocean Park, St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and West Indian Company Ltd. (WICO).

White served 23 years in law enforcement, ending with the position of Chief of Police. He also spent 22 years as a Virgin Islands senator. He helped in the Mapp campaign’s efforts to win the St. Thomas-St. John District.

Other members of the the Mapp-Potter transition team committees and chairpersons are as follows:

• Agriculture, Fisheries and Marittime: Chair – Carlos Robles, Vice Chair – Eddie
  Schuster
• Boards and Commissions: Chair – Randy Knight, Vice Chair – Kimberly Jones
• Economic Development: Chair – Simon Jones-Hendrickson, Vice Chair – Adrianne
  Dudley
• Education: Chair – Ludence Romney, Vice Chair – Vaughn Hewitt
• Energy, Technology and E-Commerce: Chair – Gustave James, Vice Chair – Sebastiano Paiewonsky Cassinelli
• Finance and Administration: Chair – Joanne Bozzuto, Vice Chair – Marvin Pickering
• Inaugural Activities: Honorary Chair – Vashti Mapp, Chair – Luz Luis, Chair –
  Sebastiano Paiewonsky Cassinelli, Co-Chair – Barbara Schneider
• Government Operations: Chair – Mona Barnes, Vice Chair – Claudette Lewis
• Infrastructure and Transportation: Chair – Gregory Schuster, Vice Chair – Mustafa
  Abusaoud
• Instrumentalities: Chair – Dwayne Howell, Vice Chair – Louis DeLyrot
• Health and Human Services: Chair – Sedonie Halbert, Vice Chair – Dr. Cora Christian
• Housing and Parks: Chair – Pedro Cruz, Vice Chair – Kennard Calendar
• Law Enforcement: Chair – David Magras, Vice Chair – Soraya Diase Coffelt
• Personnel and Labor: Chair – Milton Potter, Vice Chair – Miguel Quinones, Jr.

All chairpersons will report to Lt. Governor-elect, Osbert Potter, chair of the transition team. The district vice chairs are Juel Molloy, St.Thomas; Frankie Johnson, St.Croix; and Louis Penn, St. John.

Mapp said on Friday that his administration is committed to meeting members of the 31st Legislature and Stacey Plaskett, the newly elected Delegate to Congress, in order to forge new relationships to better the Virgin Islands. Furthermore, he said his team is already in talks with business people who want to invest in the territory.

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor-elect won a landslide victory against Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen in a run-off election on November 18. On the night of his victory, Mapp said he and Potter were committed to working hard and improving the standard of living for all Virgin Islands’ residents.