On the Issues

Healthcare

Affordable healthcare is an essential facet of any society. Without it, people would be crushed by the exorbitant cost of medical treatment or forego it altogether. Neither is an acceptable option for the people of St. Croix.

Proposed Solutions

Utilize disaster recovery funds to rebuild JFL

The federal government has earmarked billions for the reconstruction of the JFL hospital, yet the government has failed to capitalize on this opportunity. If I win election, I will do the following:

1. Draft legislation that mandates the hiring of disaster management professionals within JFL's staff and on the JFL board, contingent upon receipt of funding from the Government of the Virgin Islands

2. Draft legislation that mandates transparency of federal disaster recovery spending

Expand Healthcare Access

Most residents on St. Croix either have too little insurance coverage or none at all. This is creating a real strain on the finances and well-being of our people. What's more, is that lack of insurance impacts the coffers of our hospital, as it cannot refuse service even if patients cannot afford to pay. Should I win election, I promise to:

1. Work with the executive branch to incentivize private insurers to offer services in St. Croix.

Encourage Healthy Living

Our culture is our identity. It is the thing that we are the most proud of as Crucians. That includes the amazing, food we LOVE to eat on a regular basis. But, we have to be real with ourselves.. we eat a lot of starch and salt and fat. And we don't exercise enough. We don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. We don't drink enough water. And we're dying for it. We can't wait until we're 60 years old and the doctor tells us that we have high blood pressure and diabetes to start eating better. By then, it's too late. Elect me and I will:

1. Work with the executive branch to create and fund a comprehensive wellness program to encourage healthier lifestyles.

2. Provide funding for the upkeep of recreational spaces for adults and children to be active.

Key Issues

Outdated Hospital
High un/underinsured population
Unhealthy Living

Education

Cliché as it sounds, our children are our future. Societies have an obligation to ensure that they are properly taught to thrive in the modern world. Unfortunately, our schools, especially public schools, are in total disrepair and our teachers are overworked and underpaid.

Proposed Solutions

Fund school maintenance and upkeep

Provide funding for immediate and long-term salary increases

If children are the future, then teachers are one of the gatekeepers. How our teachers interact with our students will have a profound impact on their future development. For such a heavy responsibility, they are grossly underpaid and raises only occur when they strike and protest. I will fight to put funding in the budget for our teachers to gain salary increases in the next fiscal year, in addition to legislation that will allow teachers to receive raises for their exemplary performance.

Key Issues

Destroyed/unsafe schools
Overtaxed teaching staff

Elderly

Like our children, the elderly represent the opposite, but equally important facet of society: knowledge and experience. They have lived life’s toughest battles, helped build our community, and created the generations that exist today. For that, they deserve to live the rest of their lives with peace of mind. Yet they are faced with uncertainty around their retirement income and services for them are scarce. For all they have done, they deserve better.

Proposed Solutions

Expand GERS for private sector workers

The government is having a hard time onboarding and retaining employees, which means that the pool of people paying into GERS is small. Worse, as more government employees retire, more demands are placed on the system. An immediate solution to this issue would be to introduce legislation that allows non-government employees/employers to pay into GERS. For many private sector workers with no retirement benefits, this could be a boon to them while also increasing the number of people paying into the system. Though not a full solution to GERS insolvency, it is a step in the right direction at no cost to the taxpayer.

Expand the social services network for the elderly

The Department of Human Services and nonprofits work diligently to provide our elderly population. However, their resources are lacking and coordination between them can be challenging. Fortunately, there are federal and other grants that can help to accommodate these shortfalls.

To address both issues, I will fight to provide funding to DHS to hire qualified grant writers and managers that will help secure much needed funding. Part of this funding will be used to create resource centers specifically designed for the elderly or to augment those that already exist.

Key Issues

Instability of GERS
Lack of Critical Services

Safety

Everyone wants to go about their day without worrying about whether they will be mugged, shot, or otherwise put in danger. Law abiding people have a right to feel safe and secure in their homes and in public. Yet crime is one of the most elusive issues for the territory, especially since so much of it is personal. Unfortunately, personal disputes are the most difficult for the police to detect and many are unwilling to come forward and say what they know. People fear that the police are in league with the criminals, and are thus branded as corrupt. We must rebuild the community’s trust in our police department so that collaboration can occur between them and the people.

Proposed Solutions

Restoring accountability to the people

I propose a multi-layered approach to addressing people’s scant faith in the police department.

The first is to introduce legislation allowing the police commissioner and senior executive staff (deputies) to be elected officials with set term limits, similar to county sheriffs. The legislation would also have a recall provision, allowing the people to remove said individual if they do not have confidence in their performance.

The second, is to mandate monthly town halls on all three islands, where community members can voice their concerns about public safety issues, provide recommendations to the department, and provide feedback on the department’s performance. Every town hall would be recorded and all public comments/recommendations must be addressed by the department, or else penalties will be triggered. The police department will also have to report such findings to the Legislature.

Lastly, I will fight to increase the department’s budget to pay police officers a higher salary and hire more police officers, but also to restrict their overtime allotments as it is currently being abused. Funding for training police officers on best practices will also be provided.

Key Issues

Lack of integrity/accountability in the police department

Distasters

Proposed Solutions

Codify ODR and place it within VITEMA

The Office of Disaster Recovery being a separate entity from our state sanctioned disaster management agency makes the Office’s existence moot. Not only do they have no real authority, their insertion into the disaster management process has only made the recovery that much more complicated. I will introduce legislation to officially establish ODR as a unit within VITEMA, with proper funding for a director and disaster recovery staff. ODR staff will report to the Director of VITEMA.

Provide funding for disaster management professionals

I will fight to provide funding for hiring disaster management professionals across government. Given our circumstances, these are people that need to be employed in the government regularly.

Further, funding will be earmarked for training these professionals, as disaster management is an ever-evolving field.

Lastly, legislation will be submitted to augment VITEMA’s role as the disaster management arm of the government. The legislation will allow for creation of a disaster management consortium between all government disaster management personnel, with VITEMA as the lead.

Key Issues

Disaster management capabilities across the government are weak
Overly convoluted disaster recovery process

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