I have my issues with the VIP- Hon. J. Alvin Christopher
Those were the words of Second District Representative Hon. J. Alvin Alvin Christopher when asked for his view on the alleged existing in-fighting in the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) especially as it relates to whether or not Opposition Leader and Chairman of the VIP Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal OBE should once and for all step down from the position of being the leader of the party, with factors that surrounds his age, physical mobility and the fact that he has held the position for an extensive time and the view that he should allow someone else to take over the leadership.
“I don’t think that age has anything to do with it, but when it comes to the physical mobility, that is something I would leave him to answer. I don’t necessarily be around him all day so I don’t know how it is that he goes and comes on a daily basis.” Asked if he thinks Hon. O’Neal has served enough and should at this stage of his life give someone else the leadership of the party, Hon. Christopher responded, “…if we going run a government by democracy, if we going run a party by democracy then at the end of the day given the opportunity at that meeting I will give my views at that point in time then I’ll wait to see what the majority would have to say and I’ll have to abide by what the majority says.”
Hon. Christopher declined to share what are his views he intend to share at the meeting saying that he did not want members to know before the meeting, his train of thoughts and take on the matter. “My views will remain my views but my views will remain unanswered.”
“I have my issues with the VIP,” he repeated when asked to talk in depth about the issues he has with the party. In his opinion it is public knowledge that he, Hon. Christopher, has ran with the VIP, NDP and as an Independent Candidate over the years. “I run everywhere, any how I run and everywhere I go the people in my constituent send me back and that is something I don’t take lightly because what they are saying to me is that they are not interested in where I am at but what I have been doing and what I want to do for them. It’s something about me that they have interest in,” said Hon. Christopher.
He said that because of him being the oldest member of the VIP he has always had respect and interest in what the Party stands for, the intent of its Founding Members, and what they would have done for the country over the years. The VIP, he said, had a relationship with the “Ordinary” man and never left them out in whatever the Party did.
Asked to address the alleged issue of infighting in the VIP, Hon. Christopher shy away to say that he did not know what was being termed as “In Fighting” but said that he has been following what has been published in the local online news agencies as it related to the issue of leadership of the party. “I saw something where one member was disputing what he said about another member and issues about time frame. So I am waiting to see what it’s all about,” said Hon. Christopher.
He opined that the Party will soon call a meeting of its members, “and I hope they would invite me.” His comment sparked the question as to what possible reason the Party would call a members’ meeting and not invite Hon. Christopher, its oldest member and elected representative of the Second District. “I can say, I can’t say, that’s why I am saying that I hope that they invite me to this meeting. I don’t see anything why they shouldn’t invite me.”
Suffice to say, Hon. Christopher said that in the past he had heard of meetings of the Virgin Islands Party to which he wasn’t invited and was subsequently fired. “So I am saying that I hope that they invite me, I have had that experience already.”
He said that because of his views, he was sidelined in the past. “I get fired by the VIP I get fired by the NDP ….. so democracy is not always what people outline it to be. You can have the best idea but democracy will tell you that your idea is not the best idea and they can get together and implement the worse idea. I think it was a bad idea that the VIP fired me and I think that they would have regretted that idea but they didn’t but then they lost the government when they did.”
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