On July 27, 2014, the St. Croix Avis incorrectly quoted Attorney Stacey Plaskett as saying that she would not release her personal tax returns until such time as she was victorious in the primary. Attorney Plaskett made it clear that she has every intention of releasing her tax returns and will do so in accordance with her campaign’s timeline.
“As former counsel for the House of Representative Ethics Committee, I am well aware of the financial disclosure obligations of candidates and Members of Congress, I have every intention of releasing my personal tax returns in connection with this campaign. I will not, however, release them in advance of my campaign’s timeline solely because my opponent has done so in an effort to divert attention from my continued calls for the release of the audit of the Legislature.”
“I find it interesting that Senator Malone felt it was necessary to release his tax returns prior to the Primary Election, but he will not release the Audit of the Legislature that he has kept away from the public’s eyes for the last two years. Clearly an audit which scrutinizes the use of the people’s money is something my opponent is trying very hard to avoid. That is an ethical issue which the people should find problematic. Why do you refuse to allow the people to see how public funds are being utilized?”
Plaskett believes that passing laws on Ethics and Transparency should be a priority of the Senate President. Particularly since he holds authorship of this legislation. "I am hopeful that holding this bill up and the Audit are not related to the timing of the campaigns and that we’ll see this before the week is up when voters make decisions."
“Once again, we’ve seen my opponent go off on a tangent from the real important issues – How to grow our economy and create a future for our children. I want to talk about the issues that every Virgin Islander finds more important – creating a better Virgin Islands. Because my opponents don’t have solutions, they choose instead to divert the electorate’s attention from what is actually important,” added Plaskett.
For additional information, call D. Jerry Garcia at 332-8868.