In a move some members said exceeded its authority, the St. Croix Board of Elections voted to appoint Col. Caroline Fawkes to be St. Croix’s acting deputy supervisor of elections and recommend her for the permanent position to the Joint Board of Elections.
If approved by the Joint Board of Elections, Fawkes will replace Deputy Supervisor James Weber III, who resigned abruptly, without explanation, last week.
Bryan opened the emergency meeting, saying he called it to fill the post left empty by Weber’s resignation. He passed out Fawkes’ resume and called a recess for members to look it over.
Further details of her resume were unavailable as Bryan directed staff and other board members, first to give the resume only to the V.I. Daily News, then after the Daily News reporter insisted all news media be treated the same, that it be given to no one.
"I can do what I like as chairman," Bryan said, when asked if the document were public or not.
Fawkes, a resident of Stony Ground, made history as the first female state aviation officer in the entire Army National Guard, the Source reported in 2012. She retired from the V.I. National Guard in January 2012 after nearly 33 years of military service, 4,400 hours of accident-free flight time. She served 24 consecutive months of deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from 2009-2011, first as the director of Joint Visitor’s Bureau, and then as the director of plans and operations for the Joint Task Force.
She attended the first Officer Candidate School held in the Virgin Islands and was the first female aide-de-camp to a general officer selected within the VING. She is also the first female Virgin Islander to become a pilot and serve in the VING, and, the first (and only) female in the armed forces to pilot the C-23B Sherpa military transport aircraft. (See related links below)
"I have no issue with her resume," said board member Raymond Williams. "But I know for a fact there is at least one staff member who is interested in filling the temporary position, a person who has the requisite skills," he said.
The position will be advertised publicly "no later than Wednesday of this week," Williams said, and that the personnel committee created by the Joint Board of Elections at its last meeting plans to make a recommendation by the end of April. "But I don’t think we need to go outside this office to fill the temporary position," he said.
Board member Rupert Ross said the Joint Board of Elections had statutory authority to hire supervisors and deputy supervisors, not the district board.
"I don’t think the board has the authority to hire someone," Ross said. "I would suggest the district board recommend the joint board meet as soon as possible," he said.
Board member Roland Moolenaar said getting someone in place soon was important, as long as the board was within its power to do so.
"We need somebody now, we have so many things we have to take care of, and I would support this young lady Caroline Fawkes. But I need to know if we truly have the authority to do so," Moolenaar said.
"There is no legal counsel here," Bryan said. "As chairman, I need to have someone in the position," he added, then asked for a motion on Fawkes.
Williams made a motion to appoint long-time St. Croix elections office staff member Tricia Johnson as acting deputy supervisor, to report the action to the Joint Board at its next meeting and to recommend the Joint Board approve the appointment.
The motion failed. Voting yea were Williams and Ross. Voting nay were Bryan, Moolenaar and member Glenn Webster. Members Liliana de O’Neal and Lisa Harris-Moorhead were absent.
Moolenaar then moved to appoint Fawkes to the position until the job is posted and filled by the normal hiring process. Williams objected and he and Bryan argued briefly over whether Williams was allowed to speak, as Williams proceeded to explain his objections. "Where did this come from? We have not advertised the position," Williams said.
The motion passed, with Moolenaar, Bryan and Webster voting yea, Williams and Ross voting nay, and de O’Neal and Harris-Moorhead absent.
Debate over whether the decision was within the board’s authority continued. Harris-Moorhead arrived and Bryan immediately adjourned the meeting.
Afterwards Ross reiterated that V.I. law gives only the Joint Board of Elections the power to hire a deputy supervisor, saying he believed the action was "invalid."
Webster said the appointment of Fawkes should not generate controversy because it was a temporary, interim appointment to fill the suddenly empty position while a permanent replacement is sought.
Asked how Fawkes was selected, Bryan declined to answer and stopped responding to questions.
Webster said the board approached Fawkes.
"We approached her about the position. It’s an emergency situation, with no supervisor and no deputy supervisor, so we wanted to take action right away," Webster said.
Webster attributed opposition to Fawkes’ appointment and conflict at recent St. Croix Board of Elections meetings to opposition to change.
"Some people, they are just so opposed to seeing change come," Webster said.
