Breaking

9-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Shot in Head in Croixville Housing Community; Police Detain 15-Year-Old

Concerned Residents Clean Christiansted Town Using Their Own Tools, Money, and Some Help from the VI Fire Service

Territory May See Veterans Cemetery Through DeGazon-Sponsored Bill

Credit and Debit Cards of WAPA Customers Were Compromised Since August 30th, WAPA Says, Authority to Finally Start Issuing Notification Via Mail and Email

Sports Tourism in VI Gains Momentum as DC United Team is set to Play Exhibition Soccer Game on St. Croix

Carnival Breeze Brings 3,700 Tourists to St. Croix During Maiden Call; Senators, Tourism Officials Want to See More

Limetree Bay Willing To Provide $10 Million To Help Add Life to a Dying G.E.R.S.

American Airlines to Serve St. Croix With New Flights Next Summer

The Sudden Death of Influential Roots Reggae Visionary, Vaughn Benjamin of Midnite Band and Akae Beka, Has Rocked the Virgin Islands and Reggae Community Around the World

Arthur A. Richards K-8 School Hosts Anti-Bullying Campaign

Come Out. Hang Out. Have Fun at The Meat Up, One of St. Thomas’ Latest Hot-Spot for Good Food with Friends and Family.

UVI Board of Trustees Approves $47.1 Million Fiscal Year 2020 Budget; Sets $3 Million Fundraising Goal

Man Dies During Early Morning Car Accident on St. Croix; Driver of Car Arrested (Updated)

'You Did Everything You Could to Prevent this from Happening': An Emotional Goodbye to Young Aaron Benjamin

Back in Business: Cost U Less on St. Thomas Opened its Doors Friday to Thousands of Customers 2 Years after Irma and Maria

Bill Aimed at Regulating Credit Use by Gov't Departments and Agencies Among Others Held in Committee

Juan Luis Hospital Announces Completion and Availability of Mobile Dialysis Facilities

Tractor Trailer With Tank Carrying Thousands Of Gallons of Liquified Gas Flips Near Cool Out Bar; Driver Injured But Alive

Credit and Debit Card Hack Through WAPA Appears to be Widespread in Virgin Islands; WAPA Says Support Services Will be Made Available to Affected Customers

Facing Life in Prison Without Parole, Mother and Boyfriend Plead Not Guilty in Murder of 4-Year-Old Boy

In Left-Field Announcement, Millin Young Says Rodriquez Should Be Seated Before Tuesday Session

Breaking News / News / Politics / Top Stories / Virgin Islands / June 23, 2017

ST. THOMAS — Senator Janette Millin Young threw a curveball in the matter of Senator-elect Kevin Rodriquez on Friday, stating that the 32nd Legislature should first seat Mr. Rodriquez as a senator, and only then would it have the authority to act on the matter of his eligibility to be a member of the 32nd body.

Her announcement exposes the senator’s stance even before the upcoming Tuesday Senate session, where testifiers, among the Kevin Rodriquez himself and Janelle Sarauw, are to speak on their behalves. But Mrs. Millin Young was sure to point out that her announcement did not mean that she was taking sides.

“I am not taking sides, and I refuse to politicize the matter,” she said, adding, “senators cannot judge just anyone, but rather we can solely judge our members as per the Revised Organic Act of 1954.”

Mrs. Millin Young said that following the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, all injunctions against Mr. Rodriquez are now dissolved. Therefore, she went on, “it is the statutory obligation of the 32nd Legislature to swear in Board of Elections certified and Senator-elect Kevin Rodriquez.”

But her position appears not to fully align with that of the appellate court’s ruling, which says in part, “Thus, under the plain language of § 6(g) [of the Revised Organic Act], once the 32nd Legislature convened, it alone had the authority to determine whether Rodriquez possessed the qualifications to be a member and was thereby entitled to take the oath and be seated.” The appellate court did not say that Mr. Rodriquez should be seated; instead, it said only the 32nd Legislature has the authority to decided whether Mr. Rodriquez possessed the necessary qualifications to be a member. Once that is determined, then the body, according to the court, should move to either seat the beleaguered senator-elect, or deem him ineligible. Mrs. Millin Young’s stance sees an opposite order: seat Mr. Rodriquez and then determine his fate.

Mrs. Millin Young said the swearing-in of Mr. Rodriquez should be marked as the next item on the Tuesday session agenda after the prayer. “It is my hope that the leadership requests a special prayer on Tuesday morning that asks for us to use wisdom and understanding in the best interest of all Virgin Islanders,” she said.  “After the prayer, I expect the president to immediately swear in Mr. Rodriquez in order to put an end to the six-month vacancy in our Senate body which has led the people of the Virgin Islands to being underrepresented.”

Mrs. Millin Young, a longtime Democrat who joined the Minority Caucus earlier this year following dissension during the time the Democratic Majority was creating committee assignments, went on to say that if the Legislature seeks to review Mr. Rodriquez’s eligibility, it can immediately convene a Committee of the Whole for the sole objective of additional vetting. Or it can create a Select Committee on Ethics to ensure that the matters arising out of Ms. Sarauw’s complaints are addressed.

“It is my position that the leadership of the 32nd Legislature cannot continue to drag on this process, and I am informing the president, today, that I do not intend to stay all day and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, June 28th rehashing the issues we have heard over and over again,” she said.

“It is time to move on and to do the People’s business. Failure to swear in Mr. Rodriguez first and engaging in endless discussions on the various court filings would be a travesty and an injustice. It would show that in our 100th anniversary as a U.S. territory we cannot make a simple and just decision,” Mrs. Millin Young concluded.

According to a release issued late Friday, the Senate will meet on Tuesday for a session to determine Mr. Rodriquez’s fate, followed by a Wednesday session to tend to a slew of bills that have passed various committees and are ready for final votes before being forwarded to Government House.

[embeddoc url=”https://viconsortium.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Rodriquez-Sauraw-2017-06-08-Decision.pdf”]

Tags: , ,



Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words. I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at [email protected].




Previous Post

VIPA Reminds Public Of Parking Options For St. John Festival Goers Departing At Red Hook Ferry Terminal  

Next Post

Summit On Youth Violence To Be Held At UVI





You might also like

Leave a Reply


More Story

VIPA Reminds Public Of Parking Options For St. John Festival Goers Departing At Red Hook Ferry Terminal  

ST. THOMAS -- The Virgin Islands Port Authority on Friday reminded the public of available parking options for those traveling...

June 23, 2017