Allison DeGazon
Update: Ms. DeGazon sought to clarify to the Consortium Friday morning that she hasn't relocated but her family has. She also said that she has a letter that allows her to work remotely because the Bureau of Economic Research was without an office. "We now have a space on St. Croix and St. Thomas that are both under repair," she said.
Original Story: Allison DeGazon, the former senator who was hired by Governor Albert Bryan as the director of the Bureau of Economic Research in February 2021 with a salary of $95,000, has been living on the U.S. mainland in Georgia since last year, a reality that has angered a number of people who brought the matter to the attention of the Consortium.
Ms. DeGazon, who was back and forth between the U.S. and the USVI, moved altogether sometime last year. Critics of Ms. DeGazon's move have questioned whether she is able to effectively lead the important government arm, whose role is to "provide information on the state of the economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands in support of both public-sector and private-sector decision-making," according to a description on the bureau's website.
"One of BER’s most important functions is the production of routine statistical reports. In any given month, the Bureau of Economic Research produces and distributes hundreds of indicators relevant to the United States Virgin Islands economy," reads the description. "The Bureau also regularly conducts special research projects, in the form of briefing papers and special analyses or surveys."
Ms. DeGazon moved her children into schools in Georgia as part of the relocation. The Consortium asked the former lawmaker whether the current arrangement was efficient, or whether she should relinquish her position as B.E.R. director and pursue opportunities on the mainland. Ms. DeGazon explained that she was caring for her husband who was injured last year while working on a farm, and her elderly father. "Buying a home and paying a smaller mortgage is much wiser than paying hotels and ridiculous room and board," Ms. DeGazon said, appearing to reveal that she had purchased a home in the state. "Since when was owning multiple properties a bad thing. Forgive my frustration but if healthcare was great at home my husband and my dad would have been recovering comfortably in our home in St. Croix. Who wants to be away from their home unnecessarily?"
The B.E.R. director said that leaving her children on St. Croix with family and friends while she traveled to the mainland to care for her husband and father was difficult and unsafe. She shared pictures of her husband following the injury, which shows an bucket truck flipped on its side and the former senator's husband being placed on a stretcher. "He was like a baby for months," she said. "People think I want to move around, I'm just trying to hold it together."
Ms. DeGazon said she expects the traveling to slow down, "and there will be normalcy from summer." Her children will be back in the territory by the Fall along with her husband, she said.
"I am grateful for supportive family, friends and an understanding administration," Ms. DeGazon said.
Advertisements
