SENATOR ADLAH "FONCIE" DONASTORG
STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR TURNBULL'S VETO OF BILL NO. 23-0060
MAY 4, 1999
"What took him so long? It was clear to even the man on the street that this was a calculated attempt to manipulate and exploit the government and the people of this territory.
I can't really praise the Governor for doing what was so obviously the right thing in vetoing this bill.
I am convinced that to do otherwise would have, in the short term, created serious social unrest in these islands and led to the Governor's recall. In the long term the Virgin Islands Government would have been faced with even more serious financial problems and a truckload of
lawsuits.
We live in a democracy where we are guided by the constitution of the United States, there were many factors in this proposal that gave an unfair advantage to ICC.
The proponents of this bill had a simple strategy — divide and conquer. They tried to turn St. Thomas and St. Croix against one another. If anyone deserves praise it is the people of the Virgin Islands who refused to fall for this ridiculous scheme.
I recognize the plight of St. Croix and its financial problems and now that this is behind us it is important that we work to develop special programs and incentives to enhance economic activity on St. Croix.
Above all we had to determine the impact this bill would have on the Treasury — this bill would have been devastating to the people and Government. Ultimately, it was not in the best interest of anyone other than ICC shareholders."