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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesWho do Senators Answer to, and Who do They Respect?

Who do Senators Answer to, and Who do They Respect?

Oct. 19, 2007 — If more than two-thirds of the Virgin Islands' elected representatives in the Senate feel no responsibility to their constituents — senators have acknowledged that the people who put them in office inundated them with phone calls and emails in support of Lynn Spampinato for education commissioner — whose opinions do they consider?
And if the same 11 senators who voted against her don't care who the governor, elected by a majority of the people, believes is the right choice to fill his cabinet position, who do they care about?
To say that the community is disappointed by the vote at the Legislature Thursday is an understatement. "Depression" is the word we have heard coming out of the mouths of many.
Just when the community was feeling more hopeful and less cynical than we can ever remember, it seems it has been shoved back into hopelessness by the disdain its elected officials in the first branch of government seem to have for the opinions of the people who voted for them.
Railing about not wanting to be disrespected, our senators seem to forget that respect comes from behaving in a responsible, respectful manner. We would suggest that the disrespect is directed from the senators, not at them.

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