Governor’s Low Visibility During Earl Aftermath Raises Questions

Editorial by a Concerned Citizen

Good Day:

I am writing to share some insights that could have a significant impact on this year’s Gubernatorial election.  I am actually amazed that none of the candidates (or the press, but frankly, I have little faith in the local media) have seen fit to raise this issue or ask about it, but so far they haven’t.  I guess I’m the only one who noticed, so here goes… 

It has been a week and a day since Hurricane Earl passed the territory offering us what was thankfully only a glancing blow.  Much has been said about how fortunate we were as a territory.  Much has been said about what our Government agencies (most notably WAPA) did right and did wrong.  Missed in all the discussion, however is probably the most significant issue of all.  It is my strong opinion that during the emergency of Hurricane Earl, the leader of the Virgin Islands, Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. was ABSENT from the territory.  I will elaborate on this claim below, but allow me to note at the outset that I am not claiming this to be a fact or certainty (note the words “strong opinion” in the preceding sentence).  I am not a member of the Governor’s Inner Circle, so I can not state definitively whether or not he was here.  I am simply an observant citizen who looked at the situation, weighed the facts, and arrived at what I believe is a sound conclusion.  Please consider the following: 

*The Governor was conspicuously quiet before, during and after the emergency. To the best of my knowledge and recollection, Governor deJongh’s first comments on the storm were broadcast over radio at about 9:00PM on Sunday, less than 24 hours before heavy winds were due to impact the island.  Certainly, others in the administration (notably, VITEMA director Walters, Public Works Commissioner Smalls, Government House Press Secretary Greaux, and Police Commissioner Francis) spoke to the media before and after, but again, unless I am mistaken, the 9:00 PM statement on Sunday was the first and only statement from the Governor before the storm.  I heard nothing from the Governor during the actual storm.  This stands in stark contrast to former Governors Schneider, Turnbull, and Farrelly who frequently took to the airwaves to inform and reassure the public.  Lastly, in the days following the storm, Governor deJongh was simply nowhere to be seen.  I expect the Governor to be seen touring the islands, inspecting damage, and visibly directing the response effort, either in the field, or in meetings with FEMA, VITEMA, WAPA and other key leaders.  Unless these efforts were undertaken in secret, they do not appear to have occurred.   

**At this point, I would simply ask you to check your memories of last week, and ask yourselves a simple question.   “Did You actually see Governor deJongh at any time before during or after the storm or do you know of any person who personally saw the Governor during that time?”  If you can answer that question in the affirmative, then I am clearly barking up the wrong tree, and you need not read any further.  If you can’t then I invite you to read on…** 

I have already covered my view that we heard very little from the Governor via radio.  It should be noted that Governor deJongh wasn’t seen or heard from in any other media outlets.  Please note the following segments from articles in the V.I. Source and V.I. Daily News: 

from the Source (8/31/2010):  ”Because of the more extensive storm damage seen on St. Thomas and St. John, a curfew in the district, beginnining at 11 p.m., has been extended another day, Gov. John deJongh Jr. said Tuesday.   Fresh from a meeting with both local and federal emergency management heads, deJongh had several positive reports, saying during a press call that Hurricane Earl is no longer a threat to the territory and that the storm, so far, has yielded no deaths or injuries.” [http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/08/31/curfew-extended-st-thomas-st-john-government-open-wednesday]  

from the Daily News (8/31/2010):  ”Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency Director Mark Walters, working on no sleep, was on a conference call with Gov. John deJongh Jr. and his cabinet when he saw the canopy fly off the Domino Gas Station across the street and land on a car.” [http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/vitema-serves-as-center-of-storm-response-1.985709] 

Both mention that meetings with VITEMA, the cabinet and the press were conducted via CONFERENCE CALL.  Can you think of a reason why meetings like these would be held over the phone if the Governor was, in fact in the territory.  The meeting with VITEMA is of particular interest.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t VITEMA headquarters typically the location of cabinet meetings during a hurricane emergency?  Wouldn’t the Governor be in close proximity to the VITEMA director during an emergency?  Why would meetings over the phone be necessary?  With respect to the press, I am likewise unclear as to why a teleconference would be used instead of a face to face meeting?  In fact, is it not typical that the Governor would hold press conferences before and after the storm that included key staff from VITEMA, FEMA, and other critical agencies?  For further corroboration, please take a look at the Governor’s official website (http://www.governordejongh.com/blog/index.html).  You will note that there are no pictures of the Governor involved in hurricane preparedness meetings, or in any aspect of hurricane response, before, during, or after the storm.  The absence of photos is striking when viewed in the context of the rest of the site.  The Governor clearly isn’t shy about being photographed and having those photos posted on his site.  Pictures abound of the Governor greeting dignitaries, participating in meetings, giving speeches, etc.  Is it not strange that this most important chapter of his term would not photographed for posterity?  For comparison, please visit (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.governordejongh.com/ready/blog/index.html) which show’s how the Government House site treated approaching tropical storms and hurricanes last year.   

Finally, a cursory review of the newspapers in the days after the storm found not a single picture of the Governor anywhere.  This is quite strange in light of all that was going on (the passage of a major hurricane, curfews, power outages, Government being shut down for two days, the reopening of schools last Thursday).  Any of those events in isolation would have prompted the Governor to speak directly to the media about the situation.  You would have seen him on television or in the paper, or heard him on the radio.  Strangely, the Governor’s response to all of these events was to keep the press at arms length, and keep his exposure to the media at a minimum.  

This low-profile approach to the media is all the more striking given that this is an election year, and that the storm struck less than two weeks before the Democratic Primary election.  If ever there was a time and a situation for an incumbent Governor seeking re-election to be visible and vocal clearly, this was it.   Any politician with a brain would want to maximize his presence during the crisis to demonstrate that his Government was responding effectively and that he personally was in command of the situation?   I am normally not prone to leaping to conclusions, or engaging in conjecture without the benefit of solid provable facts.  But in this case, the discrepancy between past behavior (by other Governors and Governor deJongh himself…think of his response to the approach of Hurricane Omar in ’08), expected behavior (based on the reality of the storm, and political climate of the time) and the  OBSERVED behavior simply can’t be explained away.  The lack of media coverage outlined above simply wouldn’t be possible if Governor deJongh were actually in the territory during the passage of the storm.  I believe one can take a reasonable, and logical position that John deJongh was not here last week. 

I am not passing this information along to dig up dirt, sling mud, or play a last minute game of political ‘gotcha’.  If it is in fact the case that the Governor was out of the territory during the hurricane, it represents a significant breach of protocol and public trust.  Political campaign or not, these matters should be discussed publicly.  Consider the following:

1.  When the Governor leaves the territory, a press release is typically issued indicating where he is going and why (for example, see:  http://www.governordejongh.com/news/releases/2010/06/Governor-Departs-Territory-for-Two-Days-of-Meetings-in-Washington-DC-6-21-10.html).  The release usually includes the following line (or something similar):  “ In his absence and in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Organic Act of 1954, as amended, Lt. Governor Gregory R. Francis will serve as Acting Governor.”   The question is simple.  If Governor deJongh wasn’t here, who was serving as Acting Governor during the storm?  And I should note, during the entirety of the storm I heard nothing from Lt. Governor Francis.  Perhaps he was ordered to stay silent and out of view so as to avoid drawing attention to the fact that the Lt. Governor was present while the Governor apparently was not… 

2.  The territory was very lucky to only receive a glancing blow from the storm.  The simple fact is we (the Government and the people) were largely caught flat footed by the approach of Earl.  Perhaps we were convinced by the early forecasts that said it would pass well north of us.  Perhaps we paid it no mind because it was ‘only’ a tropical storm until Saturday.  Perhaps we were busy with campaigns and getting kids ready to return to school on Monday.  Whatever the reason, most people in the territory (at least in my view) were unaware and/or unconcerned about Earl until one or two days before it reached.  While the general public should know better, the Government is required and mandated to do better.  Remarkably, it seemed as though Government House was last to get up to speed.  Consider, for example, the Governor’s news release at 9:00PM on Sunday.  The release contained critical information for VI residents, but it was delivered so late as to be virtually useless to most people when received.  Where could the average citizen obtain emergency supplies if the stores were already closed?  How could the average citizen attend to securing their homes and property when it was already the middle of the night, with strong winds expected the next morning?  The most amazing parts of the release were the notices on government offices and the status of schools.  Until 9:00PM the day before a hurricane people in the territory had not yet been told whether or not they would need to report to work the following day.  That is unacceptable.  More importantly they had not been told whether or not the opening of schools for the 2010-2011 academic year would proceed as scheduled.  To me this is the most striking break down governmental operations that I have seen in years.  The task of securing schools for a hurricane is completely opposite the task of preparing schools for opening day.  The fact that school personnel were not given instructions on which way to go until 9:00PM (by which time it was already too late) represents a severe failure of leadership.   

3.  This episode, if true, does not cast Governor deJongh’s character or competence in a good light.  If he was away for the storm there are only two possibilities for how that came to be.  Either he left with the storm inbound, or he was away and chose to not return (and since the airports were fully functional all day Sunday, it was absolutely possible for him to return to the territory if he chose to do so).  In either case, the Governor was either unaware of the danger facing the territory, or he deemed it not sufficiently important to deviate from his travel plans.  This is not the sort of conduct that I expect from a man who has held the office for nearly four years.  It certainly isn’t the sort of conduct that I expect from a man who is seeking re-election to that office for four more years.

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