US Virgin Islands need transparency to weed out corruption

Residents in the U.S. Virgin Islands are tired of the performative outrage about the need for more transparency and accountability in the government. For all the talk, there have been no substantial changes to the territory’s public records statute since it was enacted in 1921, according to Attorney Iver Stridiron, the Legislature’s code revisor.

Yet, there has been a lot of posturing about transparency by legislators, who create the laws; Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., whose team has denied certain journalists access to information and news conferences based on the questions they asked; and other government officials, including candidates seeking to become the next governor and lieutenant governor of the territory, and senators seeking reelection.

Many of these candidates are or were in positions of authority to ensure genuine transparency and accountability to curtail and prevent rampant fraud, misuse of taxpayer money, and water and air pollution, as well as the sexual abuse of children at the hands of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (who owned two private islands in the territory) and those entrusted with securing the safety of children in the schools.

In fact, all three of the 2026 Democratic candidates on the gubernatorial ticket served as presidents of the Legislature. Sen. Milton Potter, candidate for lieutenant governor, is the current president of the 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Sen. Novelle Francis Jr., who is also vying for the lieutenant governor’s seat, was president of the 35th Legislature, and Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory, who is running for governor, was the president of the 34th Legislature. The territory has not had a Republican governor for decades.

It is time for lawmakers and other officials, including whoever wins the gubernatorial race, to stop shifting blame and insulting people’s intelligence.

If senators are sincerely interested in transparency and accountability, they would have exercised their authority to subpoena officials to testify before the Legislature under oath regarding Epstein and other critical issues affecting residents’ welfare, like escalating gun violence, because anyone testifying under oath can be charged with perjury for knowingly making a false statement.

A legislature serious about holding itself accountable would also have prioritized strengthening the U.S. Virgin Islands’ archaic and ineffective public records laws by holding officials personally liable for illegally withholding public records, imposing stringent penalties on violators, incorporating an effective enforcement mechanism, and requiring agencies to produce records by a specific deadline, which is commonplace in most states.

The territory’s law lacks basic procedures to compel the government to comply with its obligations and meaningful penalties when it doesn’t. That enables agencies to treat transparency as optional and subject requesters to lengthy delays and unreasonable fees. This could have a chilling effect on freedom of the press and journalists’ ability to gather and report the news in a timely manner.

There have been questionable ties between U.S. Virgin Islands officials and Epstein that have come to light, but that was because of lawsuits and federal investigations, not a functional local public records system.

It’s unconscionable that the legislative body did not think it was important to hold any hearings to probe into the crimes committed by Epstein in the Virgin Islands, to make sure every public official who enabled this sexual predator is held accountable. Epstein’s private islands in the territory have become infamous worldwide as a haven for him and other powerful men to allegedly rape and assault girls and young women who were brought to the islands as part of an elaborate sex trafficking ring.

The Epstein embarrassment should be enough to prompt reform on its own, but it’s far from the only place transparency has failed. Several agencies — including the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, the Police Department, the Health Department, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs — have failed for over a year and longer to produce public records I requested related to serious health and safety issues.

What are they hiding? These agencies have had more than sufficient time to release the requested records. Their lack of transparency is concerning, given the fact that several officials in Gov. Bryan’s administration have been convicted of fraud and corruption-related charges, including former Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and former Director of the Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget Jenifer O’Neal.

I also sent a formal public records request to the Virgin Island Public Finance Authority in May — after being given the runaround — asking for records related to reports the agency commissioned from a consulting firm to assess the operations of WAPA. The beleaguered utility has held residents hostage for decades due to frequent water and power outages. To date, I have not received the requested records.

Too often, government officials in the territory and at the national level expect the public to believe what they say, without providing evidence. This is not only antithetical to a democratic society, but it also makes it easy for corruption to take root and flourish under the radar, which is exactly what has been happening in the Virgin Islands, to the detriment of residents.

On July 20, 2026, residents received another devastating blow that further underscores the need for transparency. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the immediate suspension of funding for the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority following findings of “widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications, and improper payments uncovered during a HUD-initiated investigation.”

“Nearly a decade after VIHFA received $1.9 billion in HUD disaster recovery funding, VIHFA has spent less than one-third of the funds. However, evidence suggests officials spent these funds on administrative kickbacks and allegedly fraudulent schemes instead of on families or communities recovering,” HUD said in a news release.

Among the reasons for the suspension, HUD noted, is that “VIHFA’s former Chief Operating Officer, who oversaw disaster recovery programs, is serving a federal prison sentence after being convicted of fraud, money laundering, and criminal conflict of interest.”

A fundamental principle of democracy, embedded in the First Amendment, is that the public has the right to know the inner workings of the government, not what officials decide they should know to serve their self-interests and cover up their shortcomings.

Transparency begins with an open government and equitable access to public records, information, and public meetings so people can make informed decisions, ensure public officials are not abusing their position, and hold those in power accountable.

This is why I petitioned the Legislature to reform the territory’s archaic and ineffective public records laws. The Virgin Islands Source and Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) have joined me in this initiative, and Sen. Marvin Blyden has answered the call by drafting a bill to revise the public records statute.

The bill has been sent to the Legislature’s legal counsel, but a legislative source explained that, per policy, preliminary bill requests submitted to legal counsel remain the intellectual property of the senator and do not become public until a bill is officially drafted by legal counsel, assigned a bill number, and placed in the committee of jurisdiction. We hope the bill is as strong as the situation demands and that Blyden will stay the course.

If you are tired of empty platitudes and you want action, please support our petition to public officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Let’s see who is really serious about accountability.