Albert Bryan | |
---|---|
9th Governor of the United States Virgin Islands | |
Assumed office January 7, 2019 | |
Lieutenant | Tregenza Roach |
Preceded by | Kenneth Mapp |
Personal details | |
Born | Albert Bryan Jr. February 21,1968 St. Thomas,U.S. Virgin Islands |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Yolanda Cabodevilla (m. 1998) |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Government House |
Education | Wittenberg University (BA) University of the Virgin Islands (MBA) |
Albert Bryan Jr. (born February 21, 1968) is an American politician serving since 2019 as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
Bryan was born on the island of St. Thomas, to Albert Sr. and Genevieve (Pilgrim) Bryan, the oldest of five sons. He grew up in the Savan neighborhood of Charlotte Amalie, the territory’s capital. As a teenager, Bryan moved to St. Croix, where he graduated from St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School in 1985. Bryan earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wittenberg University in 1989. He received a Master of Business Administration from the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix Campus in 2003. [1]
In 2007, Governor John de Jongh appointed Bryan as Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor. When de Jongh's term ended in 2015, he returned to the private sector. Bryan was CEO and President of Aabra Group, a consulting firm, and Master Strategies, a recruiting firm. He also was executive director of the Virgin Islands chapter of Junior Achievement. [1]
In April 2018, Bryan officially announced his candidacy for governor and chose Tregenza Roach as his running mate. [2] They won the August 4 Democratic primary with 39.23% of the vote, defeating former Finance commissioner Angel E. Dawson Jr. and former Senator Allison "Allie" Petrus. [3] The team campaigned on restoring trust to government, stabilizing the economy, modernizing infrastructure, education, healthcare, reducing crime and poverty, affordable housing, and attracting rum distilleries to rescue GERS. Bryan led the 2018 general election with 38% of the vote and defeated incumbent governor Kenneth Mapp in a runoff with over 55% of the vote. He is the second Democrat to unseat a sitting governor since Charles W. Turnbull in 1998. [4]
Bryan launched his reelection bid on May 11, 2022. [5] In the August 6 primary, he defeated Kent Bernier Sr. with 65.04% of the vote. He won the November 8 general election, defeating Senator Kurt Vialet and two other candidates with 56% of the vote. [6]
Bryan was sworn in as the 9th governor of the United States Virgin Islands by Rhys Hodge, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands on January 7, 2019, at the David Monsanto Bandstand, which was built by his grandfather Ulric “Sappy” Pilgrim in Emancipation Gardens on St. Thomas. Before the ceremony, Bryan and his family attended a inaugural mass at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. The inauguration proceed with military parades and inaugural balls held on all three islands. [7]
Bryan requested an extension to the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program, which FEMA approved. [8] Due to shortage of psychiatrists, he issued an executive order declaring a mental healthcare state of emergency in the territory. [9] In April 2019, Bryan said a new major hotel would be built on St. Croix during his first term. [10] Bryan paid off all outstanding debt to the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority for 2019 and prior years, making the government up to date on payments. [11] In August 2019, Bryan faced criticism from Senators Kurt Vialet and Janelle Sarauw following his response ahead of Hurricane Dorian. [12] Bryan launched the Envision Tomorrow program to assist homeowners and landlords whose properties were damaged by two hurricanes in 2017. [13]
A member of the National Governors Association, Bryan was appointed in February 2021 to co-chair the NGA Task Force on Community Renewal. [14] On August 27, 2021, he sued to prevent the implementation of Act 8472, which reduces the WAPA board from nine members to seven. [15]
On March 13, 2020, Bryan declared a state of emergency with the arrival of coronavirus. [16] On March 19, Bryan lowered gatherings to 10. Effective March 25, Bryan ordered all non-essential businesses to close and residents stay at home. On April 8, Bryan postponed in-person public school classes for remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. [17] A month after transitioning from "Safer at Home" to the "Open Doors" phase, Bryan required travelers entering the territory from several states such as Arizona, Texas, Florida to show a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours. He also moved to close beaches early at 4pm starting July 3 to July 5, ahead of the holiday weekend while bars and nightclubs closed at midnight until further notice. On August 4, Bryan requested the legislature to extend the current State of Emergency order through October 9. Amid Covid surge, Bryan reinstated his “Stay at Home” phase which shuttered non-essential businesses including churches and school campuses for two weeks. On September 8, he said that all inbound travelers must provide a negative PCR test upon arrival or face a mandatory 14-day quarantine. On November 24, Bryan ordered a soft two-week shutdown for government agencies. On February 1, 2021, he requested from the legislature a 30-day extension of the State of Emergency to March 8. In June 2021, Bryan announced his Vax-to-Win lottery incentive. On July 26, 2021, he expressed frustration with the territory’s low vaccination rate as he aimed to get 15,000 residents vaccinated by September. On March 14, 2022, Bryan lifted the indoor mask mandate but left it in place at ports of entry, medical facilities, nursing homes and schools. In June 2022, he issued an executive order extending the Covid-19 pandemic state of emergency until June 30, 2022.
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Respondents | Approve | Disapprove |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VI Tech Stack | April 4–5, 2020 | 600 | ± 3.99% | Territory-wide St. Thomas-St. John St. Croix | 59% 63% 54% | 25% 25% 32% |
Agency | Commissioner/Director |
---|---|
Department of Finance | Clarina Modeste-Elliott (acting) Bosede Bruce (2021-2023) Kirk Callwood (2019-2020) |
OMB | Jenifer O’Neal |
Department of Education | Dionne Wells-Hendrington Racquel Berry-Benjamin (2019-2022) |
Department of Sports, Parks & Recreation | Calvert White |
Department of Public Works | Derek Gabriel Nelson Petty (2015-2021) |
Department of Justice | Ariel Smith Carol Thomas-Jacobs (acting) Denise George (2019-2023) |
Department of Labor | Gary Molloy |
Bureau of Internal Revenue | Joel Lee |
Department of Property & Procurement | Lisa Alejandro Anthony Thomas (2019-2023) |
Virgin Islands Police Department | Ray Martinez Trevor Velinor (2019-2021) |
Department of Tourism | Joseph Boschulte |
Department of Human Services | Kimberley Causey-Gomez |
Department of Health | Justa Encarnacion |
Department of Personnel | Cindy Richardson Dayna Clendinen (2019-2021) |
Bureau of Motor Vehicles | Barbara McIntosh |
Virgin Islands Fire Department | Darryl George |
Office of Veteran Affairs | Patrick Farrell |
Bureau of Corrections | Wynnie Testamark |
Department of Agriculture | Dr. Louis Petersen Positive Nelson (2019-2023) |
Department of Planning & Natural Resources | Jean Pierre Oriol |
Virgin Islands Energy Office | Kyle Fleming |
Bureau of Information Technology | Rupert Ross |
Office of Collective Bargaining | Joss Springette |
VITEMA | Daryl Jaschen |
Department of Licensing & Consumer Affairs | Richard Evangelista |
Law Enforcement Planning Commission | Angela Campbell Ray Martinez (2019-2021) |
Virgin Islands National Guard | Col. Kodjo Knox-Limbacker |
No. | Date(s) | Destination | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
1 | January 17–18, 2019 | Miami, Florida | Met with cruise ship executives of Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Disney Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises |
2 | January 29–30, 2019 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Action Network meeting on Post-Disaster Recovery |
3 | February 21–27, 2019 | Washington, D.C. | NGA Winter meeting |
4 | March 26, 2019 | Puerto Rico | Visited FEMA Distribution Center in Bayamon and met with Governor Ricardo Rosselló in San Juan. |
5 | April 4–11, 2019 | Miami, Florida, Washington, D.C. | Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami and met with FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor in Washington, D.C. |
6 | May 8, 2019 | Atlanta, Georgia | Met with Delta Air Lines |
7 | May 21–23, 2019 | Miami, Florida | Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit |
8 | June 29–30, 2019 | St. Kitts | St. Kitts Music Festival |
9 | July 7–9, 2019 | Orlando, Florida | Met with Margaritaville Enterprises |
10 | July 15–16, 2019 | West Palm Beach | Met with Cigna |
11 | September 20–22, 2019 | Washington, D.C. | Meetings with federal agencies |
12 | October 25-November 9, 2019 | Washington, D.C. | Meetings with members of Congress and federal agencies |
13 | December 5–9, 2019 | Washington, D.C. | Job for America’s Graduates annual meeting |
14 | February 4, 2020 | Tortola | Inter-Virgin Islands Council conference |
15 | February 7–11, 2020 | Washington, D.C. | NGA Winter meeting |
16 | July 8–12, 2021 | Atlanta, Georgia | Hosted a government job recruitment fair for Virgin Islanders living abroad to return home. |
17 | July 27-August 1, 2021 | Miami, Florida | Met with transportation and shipping companies |
18 | October 23–29, 2021 | Denver, Colorado | To learn about the cannabis industry |
19 | January 28-February 2, 2022 | Washington, D.C. | NGA Winter meeting |
20 | March 31-April 7, 2022 | Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. | Attended Women’s NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis to see Aliyah Boston followed by official meetings in Washington, D.C. |
21 | April 12–19, 2022 | Washington, D.C., Miami, Florida | Attended National Conference for Workforce Development in D.C. and spent Easter with family in Miami. |
22 | March 27-April 1, 2023 | Taiwan | [19] |
23 | May 2, 2023 | Boston | Attended Boston Red Sox Game. [20] |
24 | July 18, 2023 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Attended Basketball event in Las Vegas, Nevada [21] |
25 | September 12, 2023 | New York | Attended New York Jets Game. |
26 | September 19, 2023 - October 2, 2023 | Chicago, Illinois | Took government officials on trip to discuss marijuana and other matters. [22] |
27 | November 20-26 2023 | Location and Reason for Expenditures Undisclosed to Public [23] |
Bryan lives in Government House in Christiansted on St. Croix. In March 2019, the West Indian Company authorized monthly rent payments of $3,500 for a condo where Bryan would stay while on St. Thomas on behalf of his request. [24]
In May 2023, court filings by JPMorgan revealed Bryan allegedly suggested Jeffrey Epstein donate $50,000 to certain local schools, $30,000 to the VI Little League and a $25,000 private gift to his inaugural committee in 2018. He was deposed on June 6 in New York. [25]
He fired Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George, who had vigorously prosecuted Epstein-related cases, in December 2022. In July 2023, "George testified under oath that Bryan had personally lobbied her in 2019 to issue a special waiver to the territory’s sex offender law so that Epstein could travel freely, without special notifications or restrictions." [26]
The FBI arrested both of Bryan's parents on charges of stealing various expensive items after Hurricane Hugo devastated St. Croix. [27] Bryan and his wife, Yolanda Cabodevilla, have been married since 1998. They have two daughters, Aliyah and Sumuyah. [1] In November 2023, Bryan filed for divorce from Yolanda and requested that the United States Virgin Islands Superior Court seal the case in its entirety. The sitting judge, who will be up for reappointment to the bench by Bryan in 2024, granted the request and sealed all proceedings. [28]
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport is a public airport six miles (10 km) southwest of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The airport is named after Henry E. Rohlsen, a St. Croix native who was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
Saint Thomas is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea, and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Along with surrounding minor islands, it is one of three county-equivalents in the USVI. Together with Saint John, it forms one of the districts of the USVI. The territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie is located on the island.
Cyril E. King Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands, and one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean, servicing 1,403,000 passengers from July 2015 through June 2016. The airport also serves the island of St. John and is additionally often used by those travelling to the nearby British Virgin Islands.
The University of the Virgin Islands is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands.
John Percy de Jongh Jr. is an American businessman and politician who served as the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 2007 to 2015. He has been active in Virgin Islands politics and the business community since returning to St. Thomas after graduating from college in 1981. De Jongh has been involved in community development, commercial banking, served on the boards of business and philanthropic organizations, appointed to government positions and elected to public office.
Roy Lester Schneider was a Virgin Islander politician and physician who served as the fifth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from January 5, 1995 to January 4, 1999.
Little Saint James is a small private island in the United States Virgin Islands, southeast of Saint Thomas. It was owned by American child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 1998 until his death in 2019. During Epstein's ownership the island acquired local nicknames such as "Epstein Island", "Island of Sin" and "Pedophile Island".
Kenneth Ezra Mapp is an American politician who served as the eighth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, from 2015 to 2019. He is registered Republican, but ran as an independent.
The 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to select the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. The election was held concurrently with the 2018 United States midterm elections. Since no candidate received a majority of the General Election vote, as required by the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, a runoff was held 14 days later between Albert Bryan Jr. and Incumbent Governor Kenneth Mapp, the top two vote-getters. On November 20, 2018, Democrat Albert Bryan Jr. won the runoff with 54.5% of the vote.
Tregenza A. Roach is an American politician, attorney, and former journalist. Since 2019, Roach has been serving as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Roach previously was a senator at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from 2013 to 2019.
The Bethlehem Soccer Stadium is an association football stadium in Upper Bethlehem, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. The stadium is home to the US Virgin Islands national football team while the larger complex also includes the offices and technical center of the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Federation.
Major-General Kodjo S. Knox-Limbacker is a United States Army officer who currently serves as the Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands National Guard. He succeeded Brigadier-General Deborah Howell after being appointed by Governor of the Virgin Islands Albert Bryan in May 2019.
The 2022 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022 to elect the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. The election was held concurrently with the 2022 United States midterm elections.
Kurt Anthony Vialet is an Virgin Islander politician and former educator who served as a senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from the St. Croix District from 2015 to 2023. He ran as an independent candidate for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 2022 election.
Janelle K. Sarauw is a Virgin Islander politician and former educator who served as senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from the St. Thomas-St. John District, from 2017 to 2023. Sarauw ran for Lieutenant Governor in the 2022 election.
The 34th Virgin Islands Legislature was a meeting of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. It convened in Charlotte Amalie on January 11, 2021, during the third year of Albert Bryan’s governorship and ended on January 9, 2023.
Ariel M. Smith is a U.S. Virgin Islands lawyer who served as the 19th attorney general of the United States Virgin Islands from 2023 to 2024.
The 2020 United States Virgin Islands legislative election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, to elect members of the 34th Virgin Islands Legislature.
The St. Croix water crisis is an ongoing public health crisis that started in October 2023 after the tap water from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) was contaminated with lead.