32nd Legislature Will Let Courts Handle Rodriquez Matter

ST. THOMAS — Even after calling for the Legislature, not the courts, to deal with the matter of his eligibility to be a senator in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kevin Rodriquez, who won a seat during the November 8 general elections, will have to wait until the courts permanently rule on the case, according to a press release issued by the Office of Myron Jackson, the 32nd Legislature’s president.

In the release, issued late Thursday, Mr. Jackson acknowledged that he had been served by Mr. Rodriquez, and said the Senate would respond in time to the would-be senator’s challenge.

“I am in receipt of the documents and the Legislature will file its answer to the allegations set forth in Mr. Rodriquez’s complaint in due course,” Mr.  Jackson said. “The 32nd Legislature collectively, and me personally, as well as the residents of this territory want to see the issue of Mr. Rodriquez’s status resolved with all deliberate speed. We shall continue with the important business of the territory until the matter is resolved and a 15th Senator is seated.”

The Supreme Court barred Mr. Rodriquez from taking the oath of office in a Sunday ruling, which overturned a previous Superior Court decision that had cleared for the way for Mr. Rodriquez. But the sixth-place Senate seat winner in the St. Thomas-St. John District promised not to relent on his quest to be seated, and filed suit against Mr. Jackson and the 32nd Legislature in the District Court of the Virgin Islands, seeking declaratory judgement and injunctive relief declaring that the 32nd Legislature “possess the sole authority and power to determine its membership, declares any injunction entered by the Superior Court dissolved, and orders the 32nd Legislature and its president to seat plaintiff as a member of the Legislature as required by the Revised Organic Act.”