Ronald Russell To Compete Against Stacey Plaskett In Delegate To Congress Race

ST. CROIX — Former senator Ronald Russell will face-off against Stacey Plaskett in the Delegate to Congress race this November, filing documents released by the Elections System of the Virgin Islands have revealed.

The documents, seen here and here, unearth a myriad of new filings for the senate race specifically. They reveal that all of the senators from the St. Croix district will be back in the contest this November, and in an about-turn, Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, who told The Consortium recently that she had grown tired of the Senate, will run for reelection.

Mr. Russell will face a tough opponent in Ms. Plaskett, who managed to defeat former senator and ubiquitous personality in St. Thomas, Shawn-Michael Malone during the 2014 General Election. But the current delegate may face some stinging criticism once the battle heats up later this year, which could include attacks on her failure to travel with President Barack Obama during his landmark trip to Cuba, as well as questions about promised initiatives that have yet to manifest.

But Mr. Russell himself is far from immune; and his undoing could come in the same form of his magnificent demise in the Senate. He had waged a highly publicized battle in court refusing to reveal information that came as part of a 2011 Inspector General audit of the Legislature, specifically cash advances made to senators during the 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th Legislatures.

On the Senate side of things, some new names in the St. Croix district include Terrence D. Joseph, George Moore, Patricia James, Robert B. Moorehead, Duane Howell, Agustin Q. Salas, Troy Mason, Anselma John-Ayala and others.

In the St. Thomas-St. John district, the usual suspects are seeking reelection, but Senator Clifford Graham, long rumored to stay out of the race, is not on the ballot. At-Large senator Almando “Rock” Liburd won’t seek reelection either.

New candidates for the Legislature in the St. Thomas-St. John district include Bruce C. Flamon, Brian A. Smith, Dwayne Degraff, Kevin A. Rodriguez, Ivy K. Moses, Margaret Price, Margaret PriceStephen M. Frett, Patrick S. Sprauve, Maxwell A. Carty and others.