The Elections System supervisor has ruled that Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen’s name will not be included on the November general election ballot, but officials and Joint Board of Elections members said Friday that they expect Hansen’s camp will soon take the matter back to court.
Gov. John deJongh Jr. on Wednesday pardoned Hansen for her 2009 conviction on charges of failing to file tax returns, which appeared to open up the door for Hansen to run again after a V.I. Supreme Court ruling last week declared that she would not be eligible.
The Organic Act of 1954 forbids anyone on parole or probation for a felony or for a conviction of "a crime of moral turpitude" from exercising the right to vote or run for office. However, on two separate occasions, either St. Croix Board of Elections members or system officials deemed her eligible to run, saying that her convictions did not amount specifically to crimes of “moral turpitude.”
This spring, Adelbert Bryan, chairman of the St. Croix District Board of Elections and a former senator, asked Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes to review Hansen’s nomination papers for this fall’s election. Fawkes determined Hansen was qualified. Bryan petitioned Superior Court, saying Fawkes erred because her three misdemeanor convictions constitute "crimes involving moral turpitude.”
Last week, the court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Rhys S. Hodge, ruled that Hansen’s misdemeanor convictions constituted moral turpitude and ordered her name removed from the ballot. Her attorney immediately applied for relief from the governor, asking for a pardon.
The pardon was granted Wednesday, and Joint Board of Elections members met Friday to discuss whether the decision would keep Hansen on the ballot for November. The item was moved into executive session early in the meeting and was not fully heard by the end, since the board broke into a heated argument and later took a recess to reconvene on Sept. 11.
Fawkes, however, said afterward that Hansen’s camp brought the pardon to her office Thursday afternoon and, at the time, she told them that based on the court’s decision, Hansen’s name would be off the ballot.
“I stand on my decision that she was qualified before, but now with the court order, it has to be set aside,” Fawkes said. “And just like I got a court order to take her off, I need a court order to put her back on, so I expect this to go back to court soon. If I get another court order to put her back on the ballot, that’s what I’ll do.”
Fawkes said the Elections System does have to get the ballots out for the November election and expects any future ruling from the courts to come down quickly if the matter is sent back to them.
Because of the recess, Joint Board members also did not get the chance to deal with another Elections System challenge brought by Adlah Donastorg, who is asking for a do-over of this year’s primary election.
In his complaint, Donastorg, who put in a bid for governor but got knocked out during the primary, raised at least 20 questions or concerns from bad weather to double voting. The complaint was discussed last month by the St. Thomas-St. John Board of Elections but was sent to the Joint Board for further vetting.
So, here we go again. Take the power from the people and put it into the hands of the government. What happened to letting the people decide? I thought it was about we, the people. I am not condoning what Senator Hansen did, but the people of the VI are more than capable of voting on who they want to represent them. If you don’t like what the majority of the people want down here, then leave. A lot of you left the mainland, because you didn’t like what was going on there, so you are free to move wherever you think things are better for you. However, quit taking the power from the people down here, and let them make their own choices. We are sick of the select few making choices for the rest of us. Power to the People.
Power to the People, Yes. But we still need rules to abide by and you can’t just throw out those rules for your convenience. Just like we can’t elect a Senator or Governor who is not a resident or a minor, so to the rules state that individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes are ineligible to run. And it is a few of you who want to change the rules for the select few like Chucky. All the rest of us are paying our taxes, but she–the select few–not the people you are referencing–seem to have a different set of rules. It is you who needs to think of relocating.
Why fight the inevitable and prolong the agony of defeat? If it is the will of Senator Hansen to be in the Senate, let it be!The hypocracy of this community is sickening. A former senator got away with murdering his son, yet there was no outcry when he was elected to the BOE. The CHUCKY haters apparently condone their leader killing his son,shootimg a pregnant cow, looting lumber and destroying personal property. If it is immoral to fail to file income taxes, shouldn’t a conviction for willful destruction of property disqualify one from being elected to the BOE unless pardoned by the governor? Even cold-blooded killers could be pardomed by God if they repent.The killer on the BOE has no remorse for taking the life of his wife’s only son. Is it equal right and justice when only Sen.Hansen’s name is being removed from the ballot?
You are correct caribbeantoungue. He at the BOE needs to be removed also. And for that matter, any of the other officals also who have committed crimes because that is what our rules state. And without the rules, we might as well be in anarchy. But we are discussing Chucky here.
There are laws that must be enforced. However, senators write local laws not judges. Why should judges create special laws to punish a particular candidate?