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HomeNewsArchivesMATTHEW NOMINATION GOES TO FULL SENATE

MATTHEW NOMINATION GOES TO FULL SENATE

Oct. 30, 2001 — Less than two weeks after her nomination was sent to the Senate, the Rules Committee on Monday approved Mavis Matthew to head the Health Department.
The six-month time limit on Matthew serving as acting commissioner expired on Sept. 20. On Oct. 19, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull nominated her to serve as permanent head of the department.
On Monday, senators drilled Matthew for about four hours before approving her nomination on a 6-1 vote and forwarding it to the full Senate. Voting in favor were Sens. Adelbert Bryan, Donald Cole, Carlton Dowe, Almando "Rocky" Liburd, Norma Pickard-Samuel and Celestino A. White Sr. Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen was absent.
Matthew, a pediatrician, became acting commissioner in January after Dr. Lucien Moolenaar, former acting commissioner and now the department’s deputy commissioner for public health services, was accused of embezzling about $100,000 from the V.I. government between 1995 and 2000.
Prior to becoming acting commissioner, Matthew had been director since 1991 of the Maternal and Child Health and the Children with Special Health Care Needs programs. She served as Health Department assistant commissioner from 1999 until earlier this year.
In other committee action, the governor's renomination of Territorial Court Judge Edgar Ross was approved by unanimous vote. If Ross passes muster with the full Senate, which Dowe, the committee chair, said will likely meet over several days next week, he will be sitting for his third six-year term on the territorial bench.
The committee also approved the nomination of Yvonne Bowsky to sit as a Government Employee Retirement System board member.

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