Millin Young Responds To Mapp But Fails To Address Bribery Accusation

ST. THOMAS — Senator Janette Millin Young finally responded to Governor Kenneth Mapp after being assailed by the chief executive several times over accusations she made that the Mapp administration was withholding pension monies that the government owes her mother.

In a press release issued late Tuesday, the three-term senator reiterated that Department of Finance Commissioner, Valdamier Collens, called her and mentioned the pension funds while speaking about the ArcLight agreement in the same breath. She also discredited the governor’s stance that she had visited Mr. Collens’ office and brought along one of her office employees to watch over the process, as Mrs. Millin Young, the governor said, wanted to be at arm’s length from the transaction.

“The fact is that I have not been to the V.I. Department of Finance for any meetings with Commissioner Valdamier Collens or his staff since this administration was sworn into office. This is contrary to Governor Kenneth Mapp’s repeated statements via traditional and social media,” Mrs. Millin Young said. “Therefore, I could not have personally introduced my mother to Commissioner Collens by escorting her to Finance, nor could I have ‘marched back’ with an employee one or two weeks later as the governor publicly stated several times.”

On the accusation of bribery, Mrs. Millin Young attempted to allay what has become a tempest by restating the portions of her prior press release that only alludes to corruption. She said the first press release was “very specific”, as if to say she never accused the governor of attempting to bribe her. She also highlighted certain words in bold to strengthen her position: “The fact remains that the Governor and his commissioner of Finance repeatedly made calls to my mother, and the Finance Commissioner called me, regarding a pending pension matter that concerns my father’s pension while the ArcLight Agreement was before the Legislature, actions I find to be reprehensible.”

But Mrs. Millin Young left out of the latest press release the more damning part of her prior statement, which blatantly alleged that the governor and Mr. Collens were attempting to bribe her. That portion reads: “Why call me and let me to know monies would be on the way? Why call me about ArcLight and in the same breath mention the monies owed to my mother? Now Gov. Mapp has chosen to hold hostage a widower’s pension due to political reasons. This hurts because my father served this territory honorably for decades. I implore Gov. Mapp and Finance Commissioner Valdamier Collens to put aside political interference and to do the right thing by honoring the legally required pension obligation former Lt. Governor Millin earned from his tenure as lieutenant governor.”

At Government House here this morning, the territory’s leader said he would not apologize to Mrs. Millin Young for calling her a “setty fowl,” jackass, stupid, crazy and a confounded liar.

““The simple answer is no,” the governor said when asked if he would say sorry. “The senator has as much as an obligation to carry herself appropriately in her office. You’re a sitting senator, and you took it upon yourself, knowing the facts to be completely to the contrary, that you’re going to accuse two officials of the government in involving themselves in criminal activity, to somehow exact some official action on your part. You should know better. That is unacceptable.”

He explained further: “The reality is, for those of you who don’t know, I was raised on a farm. We raised chickens and ducks, and pigs and cows, sheep and goats — and just like people, animals have personalities. And the claim by some that somehow this is sexism, I don’t know how you make that claim. But if you complain and you make a lot of noise about things that aren’t important and things that you know are not true, and you just carry on, then those terms that are relevant to our history and our culture — my grandmother raised me well and I will utter a few of them.”

In Tuesday’s press release, Mrs. Millin Young said she was thankful that the governor had said that he would sign an appropriations bill to make available the $635,000 owed to Mrs. Millin, wife of former Lieutenant Governor Henry Millin.

“I am thankful, however, that the governor has admitted publicly that legal analyses have revealed what the previous administration concluded, which is that a legal obligation is due. For the first time, this administration has acknowledged the amount due to my father’s estate which it had not previously shared in writing or otherwise,” Mrs. Millin Young said.

“Regardless of whether the governor chooses to work with me or not, I make this pledge to the people of the U. S. Virgin Islands, and that is that I remain committed to uphold the oath of office in which initially I swore to abide by on January 10, 2011, … to truthfully “faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of senator,” she concluded.