League of Women Voters To Governor: Don’t Pardon ‘Chucky’ Hansen

The League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands has admonished Governor de Jongh not to pardon embattled Senator Alicia ‘Chucky’ Hansen in a well-crafted letter stating why he should not do so.

The letter, posted on the league’s Facebook page, argues that Senator Hansen “broke the bonds of this social contract when she was convicted of not one, not two, but three counts of Willful Failure to File a Tax Return. She purposefully did not pay her fair share of the tax burden.”

It added that although de Jongh has the power under Section 6 (b) of the Revised Organic Act to restore the Civil Rights of an offender, the message that such a move sends to the community is one of preferential treatment as long as you are “well-connected”, and it should not be allowed to happen.

“At a time when lawlessness has reached such a fever pitch that our streets, especially in St. Croix where Ms. Hansen resides, are vacant at night to the detriment of those few businesses who stubbornly remain open, because the populace is so afraid to leave their homes. At a time, where the regard for each other has been so eroded that some would think nothing of threatening the lives of a sitting Senator and rob them of their possessions in public. In this time, saying yes to a pardon for Ms. Hansen is saying to every single member of this community, ‘It is OK to break the law as long as you are a lawmaker, as long as you are well connected, as long as you are a public official, as long as you are popular,'” the letter reads.

The League of Women voters told de Jongh that the decision of pardoning Hansen would have “far rippling effects beyond the day it is made,” and would inform public officials behavior while holding public office.

Too Late

Although inspiring, The League of Women Voters letter did not have much influence on Governor de Jongh’s decision, as yesterday in an official statement the governor said he would pardon Hansen and leave it up to the people of St. Croix to determine her fate.

Said Governor de Jongh:

She has asked for that pardon. And I shall grant it because I believe that the wrong that she committed stands, as it has stood, as a mark against her and her record, but that it is properly for those who have elected her to public office knowing the facts of her conviction to decide whether she should serve again

Repercussions

The Governor’s pardon of Chucky Hansen opens up a new chapter in the riveting story involving her eligibility to represent the people of the Virgin Islands as a senator since being barred from the November 4th ballot by the Virgin Islands Supreme Court on grounds of “moral turpitude”.

On Tuesday, August 26 the Virgin Islands Supreme Court heard testimony by attorneys representing Senator Alicia ‘Chucky’ Hansen, defendant, and Board of Elections Chairman Adelbert Bryan, plaintiff, concerning the legitimacy of the Senator’s candidacy and more pointedly her eligibility to seek office in the upcoming 31st Legislature of the Virgin Islands.

In Hansen’s defense, attorney Lee Rohn argued that the crimes Hansen was convicted of were misdemeanors, therefore they did not fall under the ‘moral turpitude’ umbrella. However the prosecutor, attorney Emile Henderson, contended that they were indeed acts of moral turpitude because the Senator’s actions were “willful”, a term used when determining moral turpitude.

On Thursday, August 28 the V.I. Supreme Court unanimously decided that Hansen was ineligible to seek office and ordered the Superior Court to remove her from the November 4th ballot.

So what happens now that de Jongh has pardoned the Senator?

The governor said it’s now up to the people of the Virgin Islands to determine if they want to be represented by Senator Hansen, however there’s another roadblock that may prevent the Senator from being placed on the ballot, and it’s Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes.

Fawkes would essentially be neglecting the Supreme Court’s order by allowing Senator Hansen’s name on the ballot and could be held in contempt of court.