History made @ June 8 elections with first offspring of fmr legislator elected!
Dr O’Neal- son of Robinson O’Neal
It was Dr The Honourable Hubert O’Neal, after trying 4 times [1999, 2003, 2007, 2011] unsuccessfully, but made it in the 5th time following the June 8, 2015 general elections. Dr O’Neal, the son of late legislator Robinson O’Neal, therefore secured a place in the political history of the Virgin Islands by being the first child of a former legislator to be elected.
His father Robinson represented Virgin Gorda after first being elected in 1967 until his death in 1971. In his four years in office the Virgin Gordian entrepreneur was credited for pushing the laying of an undersea power cable from Tortola to Virgin Gorda to hook up electricity.
In the elections of 1986, Allen O’Neal, brother of Dr Hubert O’Neal, ran and lost against Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal OBE. Running under a VIP ticket in the Ninth District, Allen O’Neal gained 41.9 percent of the votes against Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal’s 57.4 percent.
Dr Wheatley’s son & grandson: Douglas & Natalio
Both the son and grandson of former Chief Minister Dr Willard Wheatley MBE ran for office unsuccessfully. Dr Wheatley, who became Chief Minister in 1971, hailed from East End and was the first Chief Minister to be Minister of Finance and took the territory out of grant-in-aid.
His son, talk show host and a former Ministry of Finance senior officer Douglas D. Wheatley, ran unsuccessfully for office in 2007 as an independent candidate. Douglas’ father, the late Dr Wheatley who was elected to office from 1971 to 1986, also had a grandson Natalio D. Wheatley aka Sowande Uhuru who ran two times unsuccessfully with two different political parties- 2011 & 2015.
Stoutt & son Preston
Preston P. Stoutt, a son of late Chief Minister H. Lavity Stoutt, in fact the longest serving Chief Minister and founder of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP), also ran two times unsuccessfully. He first contested the 2011 general election as an independent candidate for the First District and came back again in 2015 where he polled last in a three way race with only 68 votes to Hon Andrew A. Fahie of the VIP 652 votes.
Former Chief Minister H. Lavity Stoutt has a place in VI history and is credited as the father of the modern VI as he and his party are directly responsible for well over 90 percent of all the developments in the British Overseas Territory.
Romney & daughter Roxie
Businesswomen and tennis star JoAnn R. Romney, the daughter of late Chief Minister Cyril B. Romney, also ran unsuccessfully for the first time in 2015 with the VIP. She came up against Hon Mark H. Vanterpool in the 4th district. Hon Vanterpool, the Minister for Communications and Works, gained 717 votes to Romney’s 151. JoAnn’s late father, Chief Minister Romney, is regarded as the father of the Financial Services sector, along with the Cruise Ship industry in the VI.
Terrance B Lettsome & son Bertrand
Bertrand ‘Washasha X’ Lettsome, the son of former legislator and Minister for Communications and Works Terrance B. Lettsome, also ran in 2007 as an independent At Large candidate. He too was unsuccessful. His father, affectionately called ‘TB’, had more luck and represented the people of the 7th District for 36 years [1963-1999]. Mr TB Lettsome was the architect of many of the road net works throughout the VI, along with the water expansion system. Bertrand served for years as the Chief Conservation and Fisheries Officer.
C. Louis Walters & son McLloyd
Another son of an elected politician who threw his hat in the ring and lost was McLoyd O. Walters, who contested the 8th District seat in 2015 with the VIP. McLoyd is the son of a former representative for the 8th District and Minister for Education, Health and Welfare, C. Louis Walters. The former legislator served two terms in office: 1986-1995. McLoyd, who contested in the June 8, 2015 election with the VIP, was blown away by Hon Marlon A. Penn who had 943 votes to Mr Walters’ 185.
Also a unique part of history with family
It’s important to note that Benjamin A. Romney, the grandfather of serving legislator Hon Andrew A. Fahie, was never elected to office but was nominated as an unofficial member in 1950 when the Virgin Islands Legislative Council was restored. Hon Fahie was first elected in 1999 and has been in office since then.
In addition, there were a father and son who ran for two different political parties and both lost. In 2007, Alwon E. Smith contested a seat in the 3rd District with the National Democratic Party (NDP) and was blown away by Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Hon Julian Fraser. Smith received 179 votes and Fraser 440.
In 2015, Mr Smith’s son Rajah A. Smith also ran unsuccessfully, this time with the VIP. He too got blown away by the NDP’s Hon Melvin M. Turnbull who received 600 votes to young Smith’s 26 votes in a three way race.
There were also two brothers serving in the then Legislative Council at the same time: former Chief Minister H. Lavity Stoutt and his bother Prince M. Stoutt. Prince won a by election in 1977 for the Second District seat. He served for the years 1977-1979; 1979-1983 and 1990 to 1995.
It appears that children of former elected representatives still have to carve out their own identity in order to earn a seat in the Virgin Islands House of Assembly as the family name does not necessarily mean a path to a seat, as voters have demonstrated this over the years.
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33 Responses to “History made @ June 8 elections with first offspring of fmr legislator elected!”
Edmund and his brother former elected member Conrad Maduro were candidates in either the 2003 or 2007 elections.
Anyway, this research exposes family trends in this topic.
and Godmothers. The BVI's history would not be complete without an expose, and historical recordings of their contributions.
Lavitpppp
THANKS VINO! You have stimulated us a community to delve deeper into our national history. The writer of this piece deserves an award.