Motion to terminate Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes fails at Board of Elections special meeting

ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Board of Elections voted during a special meeting Tuesday against a motion to terminate Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes after a motion to suspend her for insubordination failed.

Additionally, the board approved a motion to have its chair write a letter to the attorney general seeking clarity on its role and rights versus the supervisor’s roles and rights. Finally, the board approved a motion to alternate the district from which its chair and secretary are elected every two years.

The board held a special meeting to discuss in executive session a matter between Fawkes and Ida Smith, a candidate who unsuccessfully ran for the position of delegate to Congress during last month’s general election after the board placed her name back on the ballot following her initial disqualification by the supervisor.

Before the board met in executive session, board secretary Lydia Hendricks read a letter into the record from Smith that informed the board members of her intent to sue. Smith, in her letter, demanded the board hold a meeting to show cause why Fawkes should not be immediately terminated for multiple issues to include her filing of a lawsuit in Superior Court against nine board members that was ultimately dismissed by the court.