Osbert Potter, Governor For 12 Days, Makes Move Of Reconciliation

ST. THOMAS — When the territory’s leader, Governor Kenneth Mapp, leaves today for Guam where he will join other territorial governors, Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter will be the islands’ top man. Sources tell VI Consortium that Potter has been setting up meetings with members of the 31st Legislature, hoping for compromise on cabinet members that were rejected by the senate  over a salary impasse and hurt feelings.

These sources, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told The Consortium  that Potter is acting as a peacemaker, hoping to quell the growing contention between the administration and the Senate.

Mapp said he was invited to Guam by the U.S. Department of Interior where all U.S. territory governors will meet, bar Puerto Rico’s. While it is not known why Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla decided against the trip, the island, with over 3 million people, is currently in great financial distress.

On Thursday, Mapp renominated the cabinet nominees that the senate voted down, refreshing the 180 days they are allowed to operate as acting heads of their respective departments and agencies. However, a compromise is in the best interest of the people, said Senate Sammuel Sanes to VI Consortium on Saturday, who sees the importance of getting past the current roadblock, because, he said, there’s a lot of work to be done.

What exactly the compromise will look like in its final form is yet to be known. Currently, Mapp is holding strong to his stance that his cabinet members’ salaries be capped at $105,000. However, the senate’s vote on Thursday signaled a dissatisfaction with that amount.

Senate Democrats had agreed to the $105,000. In fact, freshman Sen. Kurt Vialet told The Consortium that he was ready to vote in favor of the nominees at the$105,000 salary cap. However, following a widely-read story on VI Consortium, which included comments from Mapp that the senate needed to value is people as it did outsiders, the dynamics changed.