A lifelong Democrat was unseated from his position on the Board of Elections in Saturday's primary.
Roy Howard fell short by 29 votes to retain his seat as Kevin Rodriquez emerged the overall winner in the four-way race for one Democratic position on the board. Howard placed second with 330 votes, Robert Boschulte was third with 267 votes and Leroy "Sonny" Davis placed fourth with 119 votes.
According to Election Supervisor John Abramson Jr., Howard was one of two incumbents up for re-election to the St. Thomas-St. John Board of Elections this year. "The other incumbent, Aubrey Bridgewater Jr. will compete in the general election," he said.
Abramson explained that the seven board members serve four-year terms but seats are up for election on a rotating basis every two years. The primary on Saturday trimmed the number of candidates vying for three open seats on the board to eight. "In November, the other candidates whose names will appear on the Elections Board ballot include George Blackhall, Celia Clendinen-Tonge, Larry Boschulte, Phyllis Massac, Alecia Wells and Angelita Jennings," Abramson said.
In the district of St. Croix, Carmen Golden barely retained her seat despite a strong challenge by newcomer Jamila Russell. Golden landed 628 votes or 53 percent of the votes cast to Russell's 552 votes.
Golden is one of four incumbent board members seeking re-election to the St. Croix Board of Elections. Other candidates who will appear on the St. Croix Board of Elections ballot in November are Rueben Fenton, Humberto de O'Neal, Ana Davila and Arthur Joseph.
Saturday's primary reduced to five the number of candidates who will do battle for four available seats in November in the St. Croix district.
The Board of Elections is charged with scheduling all elections in the Virgin Islands and managing voter registration in the territory. The Elections Supervisor reports directly to the territorial or joint board of elections.
Saturday's primary also narrowed the field of candidates seeking vacancies on the Board of Education from 22 to 20. Raymond James and Hilma Booth were both eliminated in primary voting. The Democratic Party candidates who will run in the general election are Saturday's top vote-getter, Terence Joseph, and Jorge "Tito" Galiber, Kwame Garcia and Yvonne Williams.
Joining the Democrats in November are four Independent candidates seeking to fill four seats on the Board of Education.
No primary was needed in the St. Thomas-St. John district as 12 candidates are competing for five seats. The candidates represent an equal number of Democrats, Republicans, Independent Citizen Movement members and independent candidates.
Abramson said the board is made up of four members each from St. Thomas and St. Croix and one from St. John. "They serve a four-year term and this year, the entire board is up for re-election," he noted.
Abramson pointed out that Gov. Charles Turnbull, a current member of the board, is not seeking re-election. Three other board members from St. Croix — Patrick Williams, Eulalie Rivera and Yvonne Williams — also are not seeking re-election.
