Governor Albert Bryan during a press conference on January 15 said he would name the remainder of his cabinet within 90 days. There were some concern that the governor was moving too slow in naming leadership to critical government arms, and Mr. Bryan said the task would be completed within the aforementioned window.
However, 97 days later and three days before his first 100 hundred days in office, the governor has yet to name commissioners for the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Department of Human Services — two of the government’s most critical arms, the former to enforce law and order, and the latter being a vast operation that involves providing human services to the territory’s residents.
During the January press conference, when queried about filling cabinet positions, Mr. Bryan said, “We do have some other selections we can’t name at this time because of business interest and people that need to be notified in order for us to come public with them. It may take us within 90 days to name everyone because some people, even though they are ready to come on board, they have other commitments that will keep them working or otherwise occupied for some time, and we don’t want to announce people before they’re ready to come on.”
Mr. Bryan said his chief of staff, Karl Knight, had asked him what was the rush with naming cabinet heads. “I’m like, my clock is ticking, I’m already eight days into my administration; time is running out,” Mr. Bryan said he responded.
Currently Jason Marsh is acting commissioner of the V.I.P.D., and the oft-criticized Felicia Blyden is acting commissioner at Human Services. Both are seen as leaders without teeth, whose roles are expected to end any day.
There have been some concern within the law enforcement community with the administration’s strategy in putting leadership at the helm of the V.I.P.D. Mr. Bryan has named a St. Croix police chief, U.S. Army veteran William Harvey, and he has also pointed a deputy police commissioner, Celvin Walwyn, who is in charge of police operations, but has not named a police commissioner. The concern is that commissioners usually have a say in the leadership tasked to carryout their initiatives. The incoming V.I.P.D. commissioner will not have this ability since most of those positions have been filled. It’s a reality some law enforcement officers have said could potentially weaken a commissioner’s standing.
Mr. Bryan has made strides, however. He has named leadership to the Departments of Education, Labor, Public Works, and Planning and Natural Resources, among others. He has also named directors to lead the VI Fire Service, the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, Veterans Affairs, among other government arms. Importantly, the governor recently named an attorney general, along with a measure that seeks to make the office independent of political influence.
Mr. Bryan will be interviewed by The Consortium soon to discuss his first 100 days in office.
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