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ST. THOMAS — “Our greatest leadership qualities are our moral prestige and uncompromising ethics,” said Senator Janette Millin Young at the start of a press release the veteran senator issued today, as she made known her opposition to former Dept. of Public Works commissioner, Gustav James, to sit on the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority board.

“We may not have the power to force political changes or even the finances to fund them, but we have the benefit of our good behavior and honorable actions to serve our people,” Mrs. Millin Young said. She deemed unacceptable what she described as Mr. James’s ouster from D.P.W. last month, only to be nominated for “an important board such as the V.I. Water and Power Authority,” she said. Mrs. Millin Young said it was painfully obvious that Governor Kenneth Mapp believed that Mr. James was not the best person to lead D.P.W.

In his capacity as commissioner, Mr. James was an ex officio member of the WAPA board — a role he made well known when he called for the ouster of past WAPA executive director, Hugo Hodge, Jr., Mrs. Millin Young said. She added that Mr. James had publicly stated that Mr. Hodge lacked good judgement and competency. Mrs. Millin Young also pointed out that she had sharp disagreements with Mr. James on the senate floor regarding the Downtown Revitalization Project in St. Thomas. She had demanded several updates from him dating back to November 2016.

The senator said Mr. Mapp had at first defended Mr. James’s handling of the Downtown Revitalization Project. However, after the senator’s consistent demands for accountability, “our worst fears became known that the contractor was simply not able to fulfill his work,” she said

The senator said the situation led to what she described as a very disturbing legislative hearing in which then Mr. James defended his previous stance on the Downtown Revitalization Project under questioning from Mrs. Millin Young in a senate hearing on July 10, 2017. Then, within hours after the hearing ended, Mr. James called for the termination of the project’s contract with Tip Top construction, according to the senator.

“That James’s departure from Public Works was understood as a logical move to regain confidence in the infrastructural development of the territory. This anticipated departure I supported. However, to seek to place him in the vacancy of departing businessman Noel Loftus, makes a mockery of good governance. In my humble opinion, this nomination needs to be stamped ‘Return to Sender,'” Millin Young insisted. The senator said there are scores of well qualified Crucians who have no dark clouds over their heads for this position.

“As I always say, my position is not personal but principled, and if we continue with these types of decisions, we should expect another round of downgrades from the credit rating agencies. No doubt, the financial markets will continue to lose confidence in our judgement and understanding of public policy, fiscal rehabilitation, and economic growth,” she concluded.