ST. CROIX – Thirty-one-year-old Javan James will move onto the general elections in November, an opportunity given by 1,609 voters in Saturday’s Democratic primary.
As of 9:28 p.m. on the Election System of the Virgin Islands website, the tally from 26 out of 30 precincts put Mr. James in fifth place among the other 15 Democrats vying for a legislative seat on St. Croix.
Surrounded by family, friends and supporters outside the Election System Office in the Sunny Isle Annex, Mr. James described the moment he found out he’d made it to the general election as a “great feeling.” But he wished that his father, Jonathan E. James, were alive to experience the moment with him. He said his father was very politically involved and had a spirit of community service before his passing.
“I don’t plan to walk in his footsteps,” Mr. James said, “but I plan to take it to another level as far as passing on that legacy of hope, that legacy of breaking the cycle of poverty and being able to give back to my community.”
If Mr. James is successful in the next election, he will be the youngest senator to serve in the 33rd legislature.
But although he is young, Mr. James believes his youth can be an asset. When he was even younger, Mr. James said he was once an “at-risk youth.” The Senate, he believes, needs diverse voices – voices that can represent the young people, including those in “at-risk” circumstances. He can relate to those young people, he believes; he can be that voice.
“There’s a lot of challenges that people in my age group are going through, but they do not have anyone right now in the Senate to voice their concerns – be that voice that can pass effective legislation that will benefit them” he said. “So we need a diverse legislature, and I know for sure with my experience with the legislature and being young, I will be able to deliver for people within my age group.”
Part of the platform that he’d like to deliver, he said, is legislation that will make opportunities for young people who want to pursue technical careers. He said he would support a transitional program for technical students to attend the University of the Virgin Islands where they’d train for two years. It’s important, he said, because many skilled jobs are currently being filled by “outsiders” and natives need to be trained to be able to fill those positions.
“What I want everybody to realize is that everybody cannot be a doctor or a lawyer or a scientist, but you can be a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a mechanic,” he said. “So when I get in there, I will be pushing for [careers in] technical education and making sure that we provide funding for those programs.”
Mr. James is a certified process operator and water treatment operator, certifications he earned straight out of high school. He enlisted in the United States Air Force for a short period of six months but had to leave for medical reasons, he said.
He’s also worked as an administrative assistant for the 31st and 32nd legislatures, where he said he gained the confidence to run for office after gaining insight and learning the legislative process.
On the decision to officially run for a senate seat, Mr. James said it wasn’t his decision at all.
“It was the people of the Virgin Islands who told me, ‘Why you don’t give it a shot?’ And I did exactly what they told me to do,” he said.
His win tonight comes from his openness and love for people, Mr. James believes.
SUMMARY REPORT USVI PRIMARY ELECTION UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
RUN DATE:08/04/18 AUGUST 4, 2018
RUN TIME:09:17 PM STATISTICS
VOTES PERCENT
PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 30) . . . . . 26 86.67
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 32,330
REGISTERED VOTERS - Democrat . . . . 32,330 100.00
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . 9,209
BALLOTS CAST - Democrat. . . . . . 9,209 100.00
BALLOTS CAST - Nonpartisan. . . . . 0
BALLOTS CAST - BLANK. . . . . . . 18 .20
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 28.48
VOTER TURNOUT - Democrat . . . . . 28.48
VOTER TURNOUT - BLANK . . . . . . .06
********** (Democrat) **********
GOVERNOR & LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
(VOTE FOR) 1
(WITH 26 OF 30 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Angel E. Dawson Jr. . . . . . . . 2,122 26.96
Albert Bryan . . . . . . . . . 3,093 39.29
Allison "Allie" Petrus . . . . . . 2,624 33.33
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 33 .42
LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AT LARGE
(VOTE FOR) 1
(WITH 26 OF 30 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Brian A. Smith. . . . . . . . . 1,237 19.18
Steven D. Payne Sr. . . . . . . . 3,265 50.62
Stacie B. January. . . . . . . . 1,923 29.81
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 25 .39
LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ST. THOMAS / ST. JOHN
(VOTE FOR) 7
(WITH 13 OF 15 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Myron D. Jackson . . . . . . . . 1,972 9.17
Randolph Thomas . . . . . . . . 845 3.93
Albert F. Richardson. . . . . . . 1,175 5.46
Randolph N. Bennett . . . . . . . 797 3.71
Donna Frett Gregory . . . . . . . 2,704 12.57
Stedmann Hodge Jr. . . . . . . . 1,883 8.76
Jonathan P. Tucker Jr. . . . . . . 1,064 4.95
Marvin A. Blyden . . . . . . . . 2,289 10.64
Sean "Skooly" Georges . . . . . . 1,292 6.01
Kent Bernier, Sr.. . . . . . . . 1,459 6.78
Beatrice Gumbs. . . . . . . . . 670 3.12
Jean A. Forde . . . . . . . . . 1,512 7.03
Athneil "Bobby" Thomas . . . . . . 2,075 9.65
Carla Joseph . . . . . . . . . 1,644 7.64
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 125 .58
LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS ST. CROIX
(VOTE FOR) 7
(WITH 13 OF 15 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
R.J. Hammer. . . . . . . . . . 141 .68
Douglas Canton. . . . . . . . . 880 4.27
Terrence D. Joseph . . . . . . . 1,193 5.79
Oakland Benta . . . . . . . . . 1,428 6.93
Novelle E Francis, Jr. . . . . . . 1,785 8.66
Juan Figueroa-Serville . . . . . . 614 2.98
Neville James . . . . . . . . . 1,410 6.84
Dean R. Andrews . . . . . . . . 688 3.34
Allison DeGazon . . . . . . . . 2,282 11.07
Karen Chancellor . . . . . . . . 958 4.65
Nemmy Williams-Jackson . . . . . . 1,342 6.51
Kenneth Kenny Gittens . . . . . . 1,521 7.38
Annette L. S. Scott . . . . . . . 323 1.57
Alicia Barnes . . . . . . . . . 2,579 12.51
Javan James. . . . . . . . . . 1,609 7.81
Kurt Vialet. . . . . . . . . . 1,787 8.67
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 70 .34
TERRITORIAL COMMITTEE - AT LARGE
(VOTE FOR) 16
(WITH 26 OF 30 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Urdley Smith . . . . . . . . . 1,128 8.03
Marilyn Stapleton. . . . . . . . 1,958 13.93
Florine Audain Hassell . . . . . . 1,347 9.59
Shelley Thomas. . . . . . . . . 1,297 9.23
Lauretta Petersen. . . . . . . . 1,339 9.53
Riise E. S. Richards. . . . . . . 2,120 15.09
Dwayne Benjamin . . . . . . . . 2,207 15.71
Horace A. Callwood . . . . . . . 1,521 10.82
Rudolph Anthony Greene . . . . . . 715 5.09
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 420 2.99
TERRITORIAL COMMITTEE DISTRICT ST. CROIX
(VOTE FOR) 8
(WITH 13 OF 15 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Sonia Boyce. . . . . . . . . . 903 20.92
Cecil R. Benjamin. . . . . . . . 842 19.51
Donna M. Christensen. . . . . . . 1,897 43.95
Peter A. Abrahams. . . . . . . . 604 13.99
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 70 1.62
TERRITORIAL COMMITTEE DISTRICT ST. THOMAS / ST. JOHN
(VOTE FOR) 8
(WITH 13 OF 15 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Riise E. S. Richards. . . . . . . 1,720 42.46
Roger Minkoff . . . . . . . . . 591 14.59
Clement Magras. . . . . . . . . 1,651 40.76
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 89 2.20
BOARD OF EDUCATION ST. CROIX
(VOTE FOR) 2
(WITH 13 OF 15 PRECINCTS COUNTED 86.67%)
Shawna Richards . . . . . . . . 970 22.33
Winona A. Hendricks . . . . . . . 987 22.72
Emmanuella Perez . . . . . . . . 569 13.10
Terrence T. Joseph . . . . . . . 1,144 26.34
Susanna Callwood-Smith . . . . . . 670 15.42
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 4 .09
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