Ronald de Lugo (August 2,1930 –July 14,2020) was an American politician. He was the first Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands to the United States House of Representatives.
Ron de Lugo's parents were Puerto Ricans. His grandfather owned a hardware store and gun dealership in Charlotte Amalie,St. Thomas. De Lugo's parents were living in New Jersey at the time he was born and also lived in the Virgin Islands as civil servants. He was born in Englewood,New Jersey,and attended the Colegio San José in the Río Piedras district of San Juan,Puerto Rico.
De Lugo served in the United States Army as a program director and announcer for the Armed Forces Radio Service. He worked at WSTA radio in St. Thomas and also at WIVI in St. Croix. He was a Virgin Islands territorial Senator,a Democratic National Committeeman,the administrator for St. Croix,the representative of the Virgin Islands to Washington,D.C.,and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1956,1960,1964 and 1968.
After the position of Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives was created for the Virgin Islands,De Lugo was the first to be elected to the office,in 1972. He served as a Democrat,from January 3,1973 to January 3,1979.
De Lugo chose not to seek re-election as Delegate in 1978 so as to pursue a bid for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. He challenged incumbent Governor Juan Francisco Luis in the 1978 gubernatorial election. [1] De Lugo chose Eric E. Dawson,a Senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,as his running mate for lieutenant governor. [1] Luis defeated de Lugo in the general election on November 7,1978. [1] Luis and Lt. Gov. Henry Millin won 10,978 votes (59.2%);De Lugo and Dawson placed second with 7,568 votes (40.8%). [1] The Luis-Millin ticket won all three of the U.S. Virgin Islands' main islands. [1]
De Lugo was elected Delegate again,serving from January 3,1981 to January 3,1995;he did not seek re-election in 1994. During this time in office De Lugo chaired the committed on creating the Guam into a Commonwealth. [2] After retiring,he was a resident of St. Croix. De Lugo died on July 14,2020 at an assisted living facility in Miami,Florida,less than a month before his 90th birthday. [3]
The Ron de Lugo Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on St. Thomas is named after him.
The United States Virgin Islands,officially the Virgin Islands of the United States,are a group of Caribbean islands and a 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. The islands have a tropical climate.
Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency,whereby the governor is the head of the territory's government,and of a multi-party system. United States Virgin Islands are an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States,administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the local government of the Virgin Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Donna Marie Christian-Christensen,formerly Donna Christian-Green,is an American physician and politician. She served as the 4th elected non-voting Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands's at-large district to the United States House of Representatives from 1997 until 2015.
Melvin Herbert Evans was a United States Virgin Islander politician,who served as the appointive and the first elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands,serving from 1969 to 1975. After serving as governor he was delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981.
Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives are representatives of their territory in the House of Representatives,who do not have a right to vote on legislation in the full House but nevertheless have floor privileges and are able to participate in certain other House functions. Non-voting members may introduce legislation. Non-voting members may vote in a House committee of which they are a member.
Elections in the U.S. Virgin Islands are held to elect senators to the Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands,the governor and lieutenant governor of the territory,and a delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
Juan Francisco Luis was a Puerto Rican-U.S. Virgin Islander politician who served as the third elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands,and the territory's 23rd governor overall. As lieutenant governor,Luis assumed the governorship on January 2,1978,succeeding Governor Cyril King,who died in office. He served as governor from 1978 until 1987,becoming the longest-serving governor in the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The United States Virgin Islands general election was held on November 2,2010. Voters chose the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands,the non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives and all fifteen seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. The election coincided with the 2010 United States general election.
Henry A. Millin was a United States Virgin Islander banker and politician. Millin served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1978 until 1983.
Julio A. Brady was an American Virgin Islander judge,politician and attorney. Brady served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1983 to 1987 during the second term of former Governor Juan Francisco Luis. Prior to his death,Brady served as a U.S. Virgin Islands Superior Court judge since 2006.
Derek M. Hodge was an American Virgin Islander politician and lawyer who served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands for two terms from 1987 to 1995 under Governor Alexander Farrelly. The Virgin Islands Daily News called him a "towering figure in local politics," referring to his political career,which spanned several decades.
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. On Election Day,November 6,Bryan earned 38.08% of the vote,with Mapp coming in second with 33.45%. 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.
Virgin Islands –Puerto Rico Friendship Day is a public holiday celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands on the second Monday in October.
Eric E. Dawson was an American politician.
A referendum on holding a constitutional convention was held in the US Virgin Islands on 3 November 2020 alongside general elections. 72% of voters responding to the referendum question voted in favor and turnout was above the 50% threshold required.
The 2022 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on Tuesday,November 8,2022,to elect the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives,all fifteen seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,and the governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
The 2024 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on Tuesday,November 5,2024,to elect the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives,all 15 seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,members of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections,Board of Education,and the 15 delegates to the Sixth Constitutional Convention.
The 1976 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on November 9,1976,to elect public officials in the United States Virgin Islands.
The 1978 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on November 7,1978,to elect public officials in the United States Virgin Islands.