Stacey Plaskett has made her expectations crystal clear for anyone seeking employment in a future administration: deliver results or face termination.
Speaking at a Sept. 25 campaign gathering, the congresswoman and running mate Milton Potter's partner delivered blunt remarks about how she plans to manage her government workforce. "I will fire your ass if you don't work," Plaskett said. "Straight up, straight up, do your damn job. Cause I'm not doing your job, and the work has got to happen."
The remarks were aimed at dispelling the notion that government positions have already been promised to supporters ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Plaskett stressed that she and Potter remain candidates and have made no such commitments, emphasizing that performance and accountability will be non-negotiable for anyone hired.
Plaskett acknowledged the meeting was being livestreamed on the Virgin Islands Consortium's Facebook platform. She joked that Consortium viewers "like a little sauce" and said being in a home setting allowed her to speak with greater candour than she sometimes does in other venues.
Beyond employment standards, Plaskett argued that Virgin Islanders should demand more from government than basic functionality. She said her campaign has developed proposals spanning education, healthcare, disaster recovery, finances, agriculture, public safety and housing.
"That's what any functional government should look like," she said of reliable energy, education and healthcare. "We are too great to just be satisfied with the basics. Our people should have more than just the basics."
Plaskett addressed long-standing criticism that her career has largely unfolded outside the territory, in New York and Washington. Rather than viewing this as a liability, she framed her experience as an asset. "What I am is that sacrifice brought back home," she told supporters, noting her background prosecuting in New York and working in the nation's capital.
The speech took a personal turn when Plaskett reflected on the deaths of both her parents within the previous two years. She said their health needs could not be met locally, forcing them to spend their final years away from the islands.
"I feel like I failed them because I brought them home in a box," she said.
Early voting for the general election begins Oct. 16 on St. Croix and St. Thomas, continuing through Oct. 31. On St. John, early voting runs from Oct. 23 through Oct. 31.
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