Gov. Charles Turnbull is expected to nominate a Tourism commissioner next week, spokeswoman Rina Jacobs McBrowne said Friday.
It will be his third nominee to the post, which has not had a permanent commissioner for more than a year.
Several well-placed sources say the front-runner to head Tourism is Kent Bernier, an active Republican and the owner of Joe's Discount Liquor in Sub Base.
Other names on the current list reportedly are Winthrop Maduro, local spokesman for AT & T; Rafael Jackson, who recently retired after more than 20 years as head of Tourism's New York office; and his counterpart in Los Angeles, Ludvig Harrigan.
Some industry leaders were less than enthusiastic about the new short list.
"At this point, I just look forward to working with whoever the governor nominates," said Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association. "It has been such a draining, somewhat demoralizing process."
Noel Loftus, president of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, said industry leaders were not consulted in the latest round of considerations.
"If there's no money for advertising, it's irrelevant anyway" who heads the department, Loftus said.
Assistant Commissioner Monique Sibilly-Hodge had been serving as acting commissioner, but the 90-day limit on an acting appointment ended more than a week ago.
Among those urging the governor to decide on a permanent appointment has been Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg who has written Turnbull three times on the issue.
"The lack of leadership in the Tourism Department is painfully obvious," Donastorg said. "We have seen little advertising and no innovations in marketing or developing the tourism product."
