Politics

Senator Jean Forde Says He Regrets Salary Comment

ST. THOMAS -- Senator Jean Forde on Wednesday issued a statement expressing regret for stating that if he was being paid anything less than $85,000 annually, that he would not seek reelection because he was making "much more" before becoming a senator. The comments, laid bare by The Consortium in both written and video news reports, set off a firestorm among Virgin Islanders, who received Mr. Forde's comments as offensive and without empathy for residents who have been working government jobs for years, but have yet to receive salaries that match their worth. View the original embedded media “I will tell you straight up, that if this job was paying $20,000 less, I would not run for it,” Mr. Forde said on Thursday. “Because 1) I was making more than that — as a matter of fact, it is a lateral move for me. 2) It’s because that my efforts, my energy of what I have put in, that I am giving the money’s worth.” Today, however, Mr. Forde did an about-face, stating that he would share in ...