Senate candidate Daren Stevens, known to many as “Bogle”, and Javan James, the 31-year-old who stunned St. Croix by comfortably placing in the 2018 Democratic Primary, will be interviewed by VI Consortium Founder and President Ernice Gilbert, and Opinions Editor Ashley Scotland on the media firm’s first show of its new online broadcast studio.
The show, called The Virgin Islands Political Consortium (V.I.P.C.), was started by Mr. Gilbert early 2014 when he was a co-owner of then-radio station 102.1 F.M., Life Radio. (It’s now 101.3 F.M., Life Radio.) The show hosted all the gubernatorial candidates during the 2014 election year, as well as many of those who sought the senatorial office. It became popular for the tough questions posed by Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Scotland and Brenda Bertrand, known as “Maggie” on the show.
“We’re expecting to keep the spirit of the show intact,” Mr. Gilbert said. “I’m pretty excited about being able to keep our community informed on the candidates seeking office, especially during this critical juncture in the territory’s history. Hopefully voters’ decisions on election day will be based on relevant information and not emotion or other unimportant factors.”
“I hope to give an opportunity for our audience to connect with those aspiring for office, and to bring our electoral vetting process to a new medium that is easily accessible and educational for our demographic,” Mr. Scotland said. “It is the hope that through this process more millennials will become intrigued about the process and therefore lead to more engagement at the ballot box.”
V.I.P.C. will broadcast live on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and run until 8:00 p.m. on The Consortium’s Facebook page and its YouTube channel. An embed code of the show will also be placed on the website for those who don’t fancy social media.