Alicia Barnes And Genevieve Whitaker To Be Interviewed Saturday On VIPC

Democratic candidate for Senate Alicia Barnes and Genevieve Whitaker, who is running for Senate as an independent candidate, will be interviewed on The Virgin Islands Political Consortium (VIPC) in The Consortium’s broadcast studio in Five Corners Saturday evening.

The Saturday interviews will be the third set since the programming launched last weekend. It seeks to get answers and plans from the candidates vying for elected office in the November 6 general election.

So far, Javan James, Daren Stevens, Allison DeGazon and Senator Novelle Francis have been interviewed. More candidates are lined up, and interviews with the gubernatorial teams will be announced soon.

The show was started by Mr. Gilbert during the 2014 election season 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.) It 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 pertinent 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 has 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.”

The Saturday programming will run from 6:00 p.m. to 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.