ST. CROIX — As the Virgin Islands Board of Elections prepares for an in-person meeting at 10:30 a.m. Thursday on St. Croix, internal divisions between certain board members from St. Croix and some from the St. Thomas/St. John District have intensified, centering on whether meetings should be held virtually or in person — and how the chair has managed the board.
Raymond Williams, a St. Croix District member and board chair, said he denied recent requests from St. Thomas/St. John members for a virtual meeting due to repeated issues with decorum, public access to executive sessions, and members’ disruptive behavior. Williams cited instances of board members sharing private executive session links with unauthorized individuals and consistently disrupting the flow of meetings to the extent that it has become difficult to find stenographers willing to cover them.
“There has been a lot of consternation, there’s been a lot of lack of decorum, there’s been a lot of maliciousness,” he said.
Instead of participating in meetings respectfully, Williams said there are continuous interruptions by board members that make it difficult to control the virtual meetings.
“I like the idea of virtual but the fact that several of our members continue to posture and behave the way they do, they make it literally impossible to conduct a functional meeting and an organized meeting virtually,” he said.
Lawrence Boschulte, a St. Thomas/St. John District member and board vice chair, disagreed with Williams’ reasoning that virtual meetings were unmanageable. He said problems stem more from how the meetings are led.
“If you give respect to the board members, you’ll get respect back,” he said. “I feel that sometimes Chairman Williams does not allow certain board members to talk, which causes confusion.”
Boschulte said at least four members from his district requested a virtual option to participate in Thursday’s meeting to ensure public accessibility, not personal convenience.
“The main concern is the St. Thomas/St. John voters will not be able to participate in the sense of hearing what’s going on for a public meeting,” he said.
Williams refutes that notion, stating that the upcoming meeting, while in-person on St. Croix, will be accessible to the public on St. Thomas through teleconferencing between the Elections System offices. However, board members shall participate in person only.
“It will not be a virtual meeting because there’s no participation from the public,” he said. “They can view and listen but not participate.”
If the teleconferencing system is going to be set up for Thursday’s meeting, Boschulte said St. Thomas/St. John District board members should be allowed to participate from the St. Thomas office.
“I’m not planning on going to St. Croix; I plan to be in the St. Thomas office,” he said.
Boschulte said if Williams does not allow him to participate, then so be it.
“If he wants to be disingenuous and not allow other board members, then that’s on him,” he said. “I know I will be in the St. Thomas office, and it’s up to the chairman if he wants to accommodate my request in any vote that might occur.”
With as many as five board members from the St. Thomas/St. John District reportedly opting not to fly to St. Croix for Thursday’s meeting, questions remain about whether the 14-member board will establish a quorum.
“I can’t force them to attend,” Williams said. “We’ll attempt to have the meeting. If we don’t have a quorum, we won’t meet.”
