The U.S. District Court on Wednesday reaffirmed Basil Ottley Jr. right to be on the ballot as running-mate to Delegate Donna Christensen in this year’s gubernatorial race, according to the campaign.
V.I. voter Alan Haynes filed suit in August, challenging whether Ottley resided in the territory since 2009 as required, or only since 2010. (See Related Links)
According to the campaign, Judge Curtis Gomez first dismissed the petition filed by Haynes on the grounds that one average voter does not have the right to remove a candidate from the ballot – the same legal rationale used to dismiss those challenging President Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president.
Gomez also dismissed motions to join the case by candidates Kenneth Mapp and Soraya Diase Coffelt, saying that while they may have more standing to file a petition, it was too late as the election is well on the way and granting their motion would violate the rights of voters, according to the campaign. The court documents had not been posted on the federal court document server PACER as of 9 p.m. Wednesday.
"The candidates opposing the Christensen-Ottley team have lost in Superior Court, so they tried again in District Court, and the courts upheld the finding that Basil Ottley Jr. is a bona fide resident of the Virgin Islands," Ottley’s attorney, Joel Holt, said in the campaign statement.
Ottley said he was confident the courts would rule in his favor and he is looking forward to a resounding victory for the Christensen-Ottley team on Nov. 4th.
"I am thankful for the continued support of the voters of this territory. This has been a distraction and I look forward to the last days of this campaign."
I don’t get it. I thought the court case was about weather Basil Ottley was a bonafide resident of the US Virgin Islands and able to run in a VI election. Is that right?
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Why then did Judge Gomez not rule on the subject matter of the case: Residency??
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I see nothing in the “decision” that pertains to the question at hand. Am I missing something?
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It makes me, and others I’ve already spoken with, question how Judge Gomez made his decision. Some have mentioned the possibility of collusion between judge and members of the same political party. What!?? Really?? Could that even be possible? Here, in our dear VI?? Political influence? OMG!
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Might there be ulterior motives to his decision to allow Mr. Ottley to run for the second most powerful position in government, EVEN if he might not even have been a Virgin Islands resident during his time off island, working for the United States Government?? I saw nothing that even mentioned that little thing. Nada. Did I miss something in the ruling relating to that?
It is very easy to make a determination of a persons domicile or home of record during a certain period of time. It’s the drivers licence, federal EIN income tax address; and if the person has a formal letter of hire from the federal government while he was living in the US Virgin Islands. Did the US government require him to relocate off island? If so, there are federal records of this. That is the only real way to prove he was a resident of the VI while he worked for Uncle Sam.
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For a permit to drive in another jurisdiction, a person has a very short amount of time to legally turn in his previous licence for the licence of the state his is now residing. A person can only have ONE drivers licence. Did he have a licence from someplace (DC, MD, VA) other than the USVI during that time?
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So,
1. Federal Orders to Relocate: proof of federal request/orders to relocate away from the USVI (They hired you and told you to leave the VI to go live in DC-area)
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2. Domicile/Home of Record: according to his federal employment documents, what is shown for his “Home of Record”, and where did he pay his federal income taxes?
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3. Driver’s Licence: did he have a drivers licence issued in another jurisdiction other than the VI, during his time relocated with the federal government? Did he have a valid USVI licence during that time, according to records?
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Please, if there is something in Gomez ruling that refers to eligibility, let me know. I’m perplexed, and very concerned about the judge’s appreciation for the application of law and logic.
Another piss poor reporting job.
The court never decided one way or another. Gomez didn’t even entertain the charges or even open the folder. He basically threw it out without hearing it and dismissed it with prejudice meaning it will never come up again supposedly. Check FB and VI Consortium if you really want facts.
Remember Gomez is the one who gave Hill and Tapia a 3 year sentence while in the same stroke gave another guy 10 for the same crime and he wasn’t doing it for years with the peoples belongings, boats, weapons,etc.
Look for a raise for Gomez soon.
VI Watchdog
The parallel to Obama’s birther case is illogical: Obama released his birth certificate voluntarily. Stop hiding behind the playboy Gomez. Governor Diase-coffelt has called on you to release the tax return. Why won’t you Basil? And Donna, you claim to be about truth and transparency. Yet you are running with someone you know to not be a legitimate resident. Neither of you have publicly said that he did not file taxes nor vote in Virginia. Not in yet and already corrupt.
And yet your friends from VI restore Hope attack Mapp for having voted within the five years he was in the senate. Hypocrisy and you haven’t even won.