Town Hall Meeting With Your Senators
Here’s your chance to meet face to face to with members of the 28th Legislature this Saturday at Budhoe Park on St. Croix.
This Town Hall meeting, sponsored by the organizations listed below, is an opportunity for you to bring your questions, concerns and ideas directly to those in a position to make a difference. Please bring your own chairs, as seating may be limited.
The details of the meeting are:
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2009
Time: 2-5 p.m.
Place: Budhoe Park, Frederiksted, “Freedom City,” St. Croix
This event is sponsored by the United Caribbean Association (UCA), Our Virgin Islands Labor Union (OVILU), the We The People Committee and the People’s Community Action Radio.
For those who are unable to attend, the session will be broadcast on WDHP, 1620 AM.
Please make every effort to attend.
Excuse me for interrupting the unsupervised Romper Room but:
What sort of questions has anyone come up with? And by that I mean queries based on reality. Not trap questions. But real, legitimate questions. Ones that can be answered.
I’m curious as to the mood swings on CIF. The same people engaging in personal attacks are the one ones now saying its beneath them. I’ll be monitoring, that’s for sure.
Anonymous: I think it’s called growing up.
I dont know about you guys, but i was VEEEERY happy that samuel sanes got the demmansay Jacka** of the week.
Any outcome of this Town Hall Meeting with the Senators. Anyone, please advise. Seems to be no press on it.
Five senators were there on Saturday: Usi Richards, Neville James, Michael Thurland, Positive Nelson, and A. Donastorg. Only about 50 people showed up including the organizers. The format was strange: twenty plus questions and comments from the audience; then a 10 minute each response from the senators. The major topics were education, agriculture, and labor. One or two people brought up the governor’s guard house at his private home and the subpoenaed documents. Senator Neville James said that he would call a session “in due time” and that from what he had read of the documents, the governor’s position is “indefensible”!
We also need some info put out there in regards to Gov DeJongh campaign headquarters located on Veterans Drive next to Texaco Gas Station. Who’s money fixed up that place? Word is that not only is this his campaign headquarters but it also houses a government agency that is paying the rent and taxes for that sight. Is there any truth to this or is it just a rumor. I hope so! Because if there is any truth to this, then this Gov needs to be investigated and charged with misuse of government funds and property for personal gain.
Someone, I did not get a chance to leave work and attend the forum but I heard captions on the radio. And yes it was a strange setup. I heard Senator Neville James mention that the Governor’s position is “indefensible” but could not give a time certain for a meeting to deal with this issue. I can’t wait to see how these group of senators who banded together will not turn around after being in bed with the Governor, address this wrongful act.
Lord Send Help, if its true what I heard about a lease for a Campaign Headquarter on St. Thomas, the Governor should be ashame of himself. I heard they are paying over $10,000 monthly for the property and the Governor is using one half for a campaign headquarter. This is gross abuse. I would hope the Governor is not that stupid. Are these properties adjoining; because certainly this provides a clear appearance. Things are getting worse and worse as the days pass.
CIF Administrator: as this website grow more popular, we need alternative topic links on a host of other subjects. We’re blending into the politics stream things like homelessness, health, education, etc. and they’re getting lost. Most posters on this website are super sharp and their idea and suggestions may lead to some innovative solutions we struggle with as a community.
Bull Foot Soup-
I agree with you to a point, because it can become boring if we are limited to a few topics, I understand sometimes we get carried away, but it’s a melting pot so everything is in the mix and with cucian4life we get a lots of laughs!
Dear Bull Foot Soup and others, the basic issues health, educastion,homelessness,agriculture, etc. will always be with us. It’s necessary for all people to push for improvements in their homeland by electing leaders they can trust to work on these issues. Don’t our candidates for senate and gov. house dangle their solutions to our every concern in front of us when they are campaigning? The truth is that everything cannot be solved in one governor’s term, and this administration has good people who have improved their departments and the services we receive.
However, this governor, elected in Nov. 2006, had put the extravagant construction on his private home on a fast-track that began in March 2007 ahead of our issues. Would one of our hospitals get needed equipment this fast? Would one of our schools get books or computers this fast? What about the sly, underhanded way money was “re-programmed” from a flood-control project?
This is not a time to just fuss and shake our heads. Are we waiting for r morgan and his ilk to organize a recall for us? That’s not going to happen. They like it so!
Many people missed a chance to show their anger and frustration at the town meeting last Saturday. It was poorly attended- people were shopping and getting their nails done. Some said the weather was bad. Maybe that’s why the senators will deal with Mafoliegate “in due time”, because it is not a burning issue with the “silent” majority. So let’s move on to another topic……
“educastion” Please people; if you are going to give long speeches please know how to spell. It’s becoming very annoying.
Sam, is that your only reaction? Do you think I don’t know how to spell “education” if I can spell everything else in my long speech? I’m sure you’re just giving constructive criticism. THANKS!
Persona, June and others, thanks for the feedback. I am inclined to understand that in Other Places, senators aren’t tasked with the down-to-earth, in-the-trenches community challenges (homelessness, educations, etc.), the civil servants are. I mean, there are supposed to be other, better equipped divisions in local government that take care of things like that, not senators. Don’t they, the senators, have More Important Things to do? (I can’t think of any off hand, but I’m sure there are many.)
I agree. Senators are there to pass laws, balance the budget and perform oversight, though their only “prosecutorial” tool when it comes to oversight would be a reduction in allocation(s) to the offending agencies or departments.
The issues you addressed are executive branch issues. They are trumpeted during each gubernatorial election then quickly forgotten. We constantly blame the senators for things that are not their responsibility. Once they allocate funds to the departments for these needs, the responsibility becomes that of the commissioners.
While the senators could use the purse strings to inspire action from the commissioners, it is truly the responsibility of the governor to ensure his staff is fulfilling their mandated tasks and executing his policy.
What is the people’s responsibility when they see high officials abusing their trust?
Thanks Puzzled. That was what I was looking for: the Executive Branch. And it’s exactly these kinds of things, these types of cracks in the dike that pull communities apart. We vote in who we are inclined to trust will Do The Right Thing (thank you, Mr. Spike Lee) and then, in an abrupt cloud of dust, we are left holding the bag again. Year after year after year this dysfunctional behavior is repeated. It’s enough to drive one, well, dysfunctional.
We all long for the “old days” when things “appeared” to be nicer and simpler and cleaner. Well, we can’t go back. Going forward (re: progressive improvement in quality of life for all) doesn’t look too good, either. So we grovel in the mud and sling it at one another out of utter frustration.
And like those silly crabs in a bucket, we just keep pulling one another back in.
To Persona Non Grata,
To vote accordingly, but the politicians can easily bribe them with paved road, pay increases, and a little retroactive back-pay, and also timely tax checks.
its so easy.
Don’t you think,E W O, that between elections there should be something like public sentiment to make our elected officials remember they will need our votes soon? Around the world we see people speaking out to affect change in their governments. Our public sentiment is so meek and fractured it can easily be ignored by politicians.
Oh Lawd, Sam gon get on me case! EFFECT change