Kenneth Mapp

Kenneth Mapp
8th Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
In office January 5, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Lieutenant	Osbert Potter
Preceded by	John DeJongh
Succeeded by	Albert Bryan
7th Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
In office January 2, 1995 – January 4, 1999
Governor	Roy Schneider
Preceded by	Derek Hodge
Succeeded by	Gerard Luz James
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Ezra Mapp (1955-11-02) November 2, 1955 (age 65) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican (before 2000) Independent (2000–present)
Education	New York City College of Technology University of the Virgin Islands Harvard University (MPA)

Kenneth Ezra Mapp (born November 2, 1955) is an American Virgin Islands politician who served as the eighth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, from 2015 to 2019. He was registered Republican,^[1] but ran as an independent.

A former three-term Virgin Islands Senator, Mapp served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1995 until 1999. Mapp was an independent candidate for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 2010 gubernatorial election,^[2] but was defeated by John de Jongh.^[3] He ran in the 2014 gubernatorial election for Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, defeating Donna Christian-Christensen, the longtime Delegate to Congress, in a run-off.^[4] Mapp ran for a second term in 2018, but was defeated in the runoff election by Democrat Albert Bryan.^[5]

Early life and education[]

Kenneth Ezra Mapp^[6][7] was born on November 2, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York, to Al Mapp and Vashti Hewitt Mapp.^[8] He was one of four siblings. Mapp moved to Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1961, where he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Almina N. Hewitt, in Estate Rattan. He graduated from St. Croix Central High School in 1973.

Mapp has attended New York City Community College of City University of New York and the University of the Virgin Islands, but has not earned a bachelor's degree. After leaving office as lieutenant governor in 1999, however, he completed the six-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School (which has no formal educational requirements)^[9] and received a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.^[2] Mapp also completed other fellowships at Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.^[2]

Career[]

Mapp has worked as a police trainee in New York City and a police officer in the U.S. Virgin Islands.^[2] He joined the New York City Police Department soon after graduating from high school in 1973 and was based in the 83rd Police Precinct in Brooklyn. He later became a police officer in the Virgin Islands and was elected president of the Virgin Islands Police Benevolent Association.

Mapp was elected as a senator in the Virgin Islands Legislature in three separate elections.^[2] Mapp was elected to the 15th Legislature of the Virgin Islands^[2] in 1982, his first elected office. He would later be elected as a senator in the 18th and 20th Legislatures as well. He chaired the Committee on Public Safety and Judicial Affairs and was a standing member on the Committee on Finance.^[2] Additionally, Mapp held other positions within the Virgin Islands government. He served as the assistant director of the Industrial Development Commission, which later became the Economic Development Authority.^[2] Mapp also became the director of the Consumer Services Administration, which is now the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.^[2]

In 1994, gubernatorial candidate Roy L. Schneider chose Mapp as his running mate for lieutenant governor in the election.^[2] Schneider and Mapp jointly campaigned as independent candidates.^[10] Schneider and Mapp were elected Governor and Lt. Governor in a special gubernatorial runoff election held on November 22, 1994.^[10] They defeated the Democratic gubernatorial ticket, which consisted of then-Lt. Gov. Derek M. Hodge and his running mate, .^[10]

Governor Roy Schneider and Lt. Governor Kenneth Mapp were inaugurated to a four-year term on January 2, 1995.^[10] However, Schneider and Mapp had a publicly strained relationship while in office and the two often did not speak to one another during their four-year tenure.^[11] Schneider and Mapp did not seek re-election in 1999. Instead, Schneider ran with Finance Commissioner Juan Centeno as his running mate and they were defeated in the election by Democratic candidate Charles Turnbull and his running mate, Gerard Luz James, who were sworn in on January 4, 1999.^[12]

After leaving office as lieutenant governor, Mapp earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP 159) at Harvard Business School.^[13] Though he ran for lieutenant governor as independent, Mapp had changed his party affiliation from Republican by 2001.^[13] Mapp did not run for governor in 2002.^[13] He campaigned for Governor Turnbull who was re-elected to a second term.

In 2002, Governor Charles Turnbull appointed Mapp as the Virgin Island's Public Finance Authority's Director of finance and administration. Mapp raised millions of dollars for the government and Hovensa, the territory's largest private sector employer. The Public Finance Authority acquired its first ever investment grade ratings on VI government-backed securities during Mapp's tenure. Mapp also managed several major capital projects and served on the Governor's financial and budget team. Mapp participated in budget hearings and prepared a variety of detailed analysis and reports. The Governor's financial team worked closely with department heads and legislators to develop and gain legislative approval of the annual territorial budgets.^[2]

In 2006, Mapp announced his candidacy for governor as an independent candidate with former Senator at Large as his running mate. His two main opponents were businessman John De Jongh and Senator Adlah Donastorg. In the general election, de Jongh won 15,914 votes which equalled 49.33% of the total vote, Mapp won 9,100 of the total votes (equalling 26.78 percent) and Donatorg earned 7,871 votes, or 23.16 percent of the votes cast.^[14] De Jongh and Mapp, the two top candidates in terms of votes, were forced into a second runoff election on November 21, 2006, since no candidate earned more than 50% of the total votes cast.^[14] In the 2006 gubernatorial runoff, De Jongh was elected Governor with 16,644 votes (57.30%), while Mapp came in second, garnering 12,402 votes (42.70%).^[15]

2010 gubernatorial election[]

Mapp formally announced his candidacy for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 2010 gubernatorial election on August 20, 2010, at his headquarters on Saint Thomas.^[2] Mapp, who is running as an Independent rather than a Republican, picked Malik Sekou, a professor and department chair at the University of the Virgin Islands, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.^[2][16]

Mapp's main campaign platform included reducing crime and improving education in the Virgin Islands.^[2] Mapp promised to construct a technical school, promote economic growth while protecting the environment and pursue cleaner forms of energy if elected.^[2] The general election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Governor John de Jongh defeated Mapp in the election to win a second term in office.^[3] De Jongh earned 17,535 votes, or 56.27% of the vote, while Mapp came in second with 13,580 votes, or 43.58% of the vote.^[3] Mapp initially refused to concede, citing possible voting irregularities and the advice from his campaign advisor.^[17]

2014 gubernatorial election[]

Mapp ran for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 2014 gubernatorial election, choosing Osbert Potter, a former Virgin Islands senator as his running mate. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. He received 47.47% of the vote, but since no candidate received the required 50%+1 as required by the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, a runoff was held between him and Donna Christian-Christensen, the two top vote receivers. The runoff was held on November 18, 2014, two weeks after the general election.^[18] Mapp went on to win the run-off election, receiving almost 64% of the vote.^[4]

2018 gubernatorial election[]

Mapp ran for reelection but lost with 44.67 percent of the vote to Albert Bryan's 55.04 percent in a run-off election.^[19][20]

Political career[]

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When Mapp assumed office as Governor in 2015, he inherited a government teetering on financial collapse. The effect of the Great Recession of 2008 and the closure of St. Croix’s oil refinery in 2012 on the US Virgin Islands’ economy were severe. Given the bankruptcy declaration of Puerto Rico and Congress’ enactment of the PROMESA law, the VI government was foreclosed from issuing new debt. With few options remaining, Mapp set a course to work with the private sector, new investors and friends in the US government. He headed several trade missions on the U.S. mainland and in China.

Mapp worked with Hess Oil and PDVSA de Venezuela, owners of the shuttered oil refinery on St. Croix and resolved many of the government’s outstanding legal issues with the firms. Consequently, the government negotiated a settlement to its benefit resulting in an award of a $260 million cash payment, receipt real estate holdings of land, homes and a vocational technical school, with a combined settlement value of approximately $900 million. The settlement allowed the VI to seek a new owner and operator of the refinery. Subsequently, an oil terminal storage facility was opened and reconstruction of the shuttered refinery began, creating over 3000 new jobs in the territory and an investment in the VI economy of over $1.5 billion.

Major capital projects funded by the US and VI governments were also started under the Mapp administration. New roads, port development projects, schools and upgrades to the law enforcement capability were undertaken. Mapp successfully formed an alliance with the New York City Police Department. The VI Police Department sent a number of personnel to the NYPD for formal training and mentorship. In addition, the VIPD implemented a comprehensive records management and crime analysis system. Mapp also opened the Medicare program to all eligible Virgin Islands residents, giving vital health care access to many families who lacked health insurance and access to basic health care services.

Mapp settled a number of outstanding collective bargaining issues with the government's labor unions paying millions of dollars of wage increases and other benefits. The Mapp administration was also successful in raising the minimum wages of workers in both the private and public sectors in the Territory. At the beginning of 2019, minimum wages in the US Virgin Islands were at least 40 percent higher than the US minimum wage.

By the end of Mapp's term as Governor, he was credited as an effective leader who managed the aftermath of two (2) category 5 hurricanes that struck the US Virgin Islands within twelve days in 2017. Mapp worked well with President Trump and members of his administration for the benefit of the Virgin Islands. Within six months of the hurricanes, over 125 bipartisan Members of Congress led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were in the Virgin Islands seeing firsthand the devastation left in the storms’ path. Mapp was successful in persuading Congress and received bipartisan support for several unprecedented amendments to the Stafford Act as well as resources, an estimated $9 billion of federal funds for the recovery and rebuilding of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mapp recruited local, national and international nonprofit organizations to join the VI response and recovery effort, including the American Red Cross, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Kenny Chesney Foundation. Mapp's office also contracted with emergency response and disaster recovery and accounting firms within 75 days of the hurricanes and embedded them in his disaster response effort. As a member of the National Governor's Association, he appealed to and received offers of help from his fellow Governors resulting in aid, personnel and resources from twenty-four states.

Mapp left a legacy of providing all high school graduates in the Virgin Islands access to a free four-year college education at the University of the Virgin Islands.

References

• Appearances on C-SPAN