ST. CROIX — Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said he is considering joining the board of the West Indian Company Limited, which is rumored to have had another member resign following the resignations of Enrique Rodriguez and Joseph Boschulte.
The governor said on Monday that he has not received official notice that Vice Chair Olric Carrington has resigned, though he has heard the rumor.
“I heard people talking about rumors, but I’ve not seen a letter of resignation,” Bryan said.
Neither Board Chair Jason Charles nor Carrington has responded to calls about the rumored resignation.
When asked whether he plans to nominate someone to replace Rodriguez, Bryan said he’s weighing joining the board himself, noting that past governors have done so. He currently serves as chair on the boards of the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network and Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority, which owns both viNGN and WICO.
“WICO’s at a point in its career where it needs some strong guidance, and I want to be heavily involved as we close out this last year and a half of service,” Bryan said. “So, I haven’t made that decision yet, but if I don’t, I’ll be appointing somebody of merit to that board.”
If Carrington’s resignation is confirmed, the nine-member board would be down to six: Charles, Hugo Hodge Jr., Vincent Richards, Prakash Daswani, former Senator Roosevelt St. C. David, and its newly minted member, Tourism Commissioner-nominee Jennifer Matarangas-King.
Bryan said he wants to see the board fully staffed. With competitive compensation, he said, there’s no shortage of interest.
“I just want to make sure we have the right mix of people for this last year and a half,” he said.
As the governor seeks to appoint a full complement of members to the WICO board, he is guided by legislation he signed into law on December 6, 2021 that requires membership on boards and commissions to be gender balanced.
Bill No. 34-0062 (Act No. 8507), sponsored by former Senator Genevieve Whitaker, requires the governor or other appointing authority to make a good-faith effort to ensure that the membership, except the ex-officio membership, of each appointive board or commission is gender balanced and reflects the gender diversity of the territory to the extent feasible and to the extent that appointees are qualified to serve on the boards and commissions.
The WICO board was composed of eight men prior to the resignations of Rodriguez and Boschulte, and the appointment of Matarangas-King.
The governor said he would consider appointing a woman to the WICO board, stressing the need for qualified individuals to serve on the board regardless of their gender.
“Miss Matarangas-King is the commissioner of Tourism because she’s just a qualified human being, not because she’s a woman or a man,” he said. “And I think putting people on the board or in any position shouldn’t be based on what sex they are, but rather what they can contribute to our community.”
When it comes to the ongoing debate about whether WICO is a public or private corporation, the governor discussed his view during a Government House press briefing on Monday.
“WICO is a entity that is owned by the government that operates as a private corporation,” Bryan said in response to a question from a reporter about WICO’s status, adding that the Virgin Islands benefits from the flexibility of having a corporation that can meet in private to discuss its plans for the cruise industry.
The press briefing took place a week after a Senate budget hearing on August 18, during which Hodge, the WICO board’s Finance Committee chair, and WICO Interim CEO Charlene Turnbull refused to answer multiple questions relating to finances. When asked about a request to provide the salaries of WICO employees, Turnbull said she did not respond because her understanding was that WICO is a private company, and certain information is private.
WICO, a St. Thomas port facility with a cruise ship pier, was acquired in full by the Virgin Islands government in 1993 through Act No. 5826, which explicitly established it as a “public corporation and governmental instrumentality” operating on behalf of the government. PFA Director of Finance and Administration Nathan Simmonds reaffirmed to senators on June 23 and August 19 that WICO is a public entity. The WICO board chair conceded to WTJX on August 21 that WICO is a public entity.
Bryan said during Monday’s press briefing that the Legislature has been “arguing” the point about whether WICO has to comply, suggesting the body could write a law clarifying that WICO must comply with every government law.
“Instead, we’re having this stupid debate all the time,” he said. “They have the power to do it. They’ve always had the power to do it, so I am just a little bit confused.”
After witnessing how hesitant WICO officials were to provide requested information during the August 18 budget hearing, Senate President Milton Potter said he submitted language to the Legislature’s legal counsel to formally draft a bill clarifying WICO’s status as a public corporation. He said senators thought the existing language was sufficient, noting that the courts have ruled that WICO is a public entity while pointing out that public funds run WICO.
“It’s not a private entity with private stockholders who can just do their thing behind closed doors, so this is an effort to hopefully minimize any further court engagement to make it abundantly clear what the intent of the language is,” Potter said. “And, if there’s a hint of any ambiguity, that will be removed.”
