Sept. 24, 2008 — The St. Thomas-St. John Elections office on Crystal Gade was alive with excitement Wednesday as new candidates crowded the upstairs headquarters to draw their ballot positions for the first time.
Veterans Adlah Donastorg and Craig Barshinger mingled with senatorial aspirants Myron Jackson, Tregenza Roach, Helen Berry Baker and Louis Milton Willis as all awaited their magic numbers.
Actually, there is no magic to the numbers; they are determined by which candidate filed first. However, that fact didn't dampen the mood of the day, as candidates or their representatives awaited their official numbers, with which they will be identified in their campaigns.
Before the noon drawing, conversation grew animated as Moses Carty, Baker and Dwayne Callwood debated national political strategies. No matter the differences, all appeared to agree that Barack Obama is the man in the presidential race.
Elections officials Natalie Thomas and Sharon Benjamin presided over the ballot box, repeating the numbers over speaker phone to Supervisor of Elections John Abramson Jr. The room suddenly turned silent at one point as Abramson asked the participants to be quiet so he could hear.
"So far everything has been pretty much on target," Abramson said, speaking from St. Croix later in the day. "Everything is running smoothly. Today, the candidates are happy — they have their numbers, so they can go right to the printer and spend money."
The numbers identify the candidates, and they will be shouted out in campaign messages until Nov. 4, when the election silences the voices.
Oct. 4 is the last day to register to vote, Abramson emphasized. It's a Saturday, but the offices in both districts will be open, he said. Prospective voters must bring proof of citizenship: a passport, naturalization certificate or military-discharge paper.
On Tuesday the St. Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections certified the results of mail-in absentee ballots from the September primary election, which did not affect any of the seven Democrats who will run in November.
The St. Croix office was still compiling the results of the ballots Wednesday. They should be certified by Wednesday evening, Abramson said.
The candidates in both districts and their ballot numbers:
Delegate to Congress
Donna Christensen: 1
28th Legislature
At-Large
Carmen Wesselhoft: 1
Craig Barshinger: 2
St. Thomas District
Democrat
Adlah Donastorg Jr.: 9
Louis Hill*: 21
Myron D. Jackson: 13
Shawn-Michael Malone*: 12
Patrick Simeon Sprauve: 6
Alvin Williams*: 23
Louis Willis: 4
ICM
Liston Davis*: 17
Stedman Hodge Jr.: 7
Republican
Krim Ballentine: 10
No Party
Helen Berry Baker: 19
Dwayne Callwood: 5
Moses Carty: 8
Dolores Clendenin: 18
Carlton Dowe*: 22
Stephen Frett: 3
Samuel Harvey: 20
Eleanor Joseph Porter: 16
Tregenza A. Roach: 11
Celestino A. White Sr.*: 22
Lisa Williams: 14
St. Croix District
Democrat
Diane Capehart: 9
Neville James*: 16
Wayne James: 20
Ronald Russell: 5
Sammuel Sanes: 12
Michael Thurland: 11
James Weber III*: 12
ICM
Adelbert Bryan: 17
Naomi Joseph: 8
George Moore: 14
Terrence Nelson*: 13
Kendall Petersen: 15
Usie Richards*: 4
Republican
Lillana Belardo de O'Neal: 6
Dwain Ford: 3
No Party
Samuel Flemming: 22
Bernard Hamilton: 21
Norman Jn Baptiste*: 23
Gonzalo Rivera: 19
Nellie Rivera-O'Reilly: 7
Iotah Thomas: 18
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