Present at Thursday’s Island Council meeting were Island Governor Alida Francis (third right), Island Registrar Melissa Robins-Spanner (second right), and Island Council Members Rechelline Leerdam (second left), Glenville Schmidt (third left), Clyde van Putten (left) and Raquel Spanner-Carty (right). Not in photo, but present, were Commissioners Reuben Merkman and Arlene Spanner-Schmidt.
ST. EUSTATIUS--The St. Eustatius Island Council passed a motion on Thursday to dismiss Commissioner Arlene Spanner-Schmidt, with the only votes being cast by her own party and the opposition not in the legislative hall.
The motion read by Island Council Member and Progressive Labour Party (PLP) leader Rechelline Leerdam passed two to one in a secret ballot.
The only members of the five-person legislative body to vote on motion were Leerdam and PLP Island Council Members Clyde van Putten and Glenville Schmidt, indicating that the party was not united in its decision.
Island Council Member Mercedes Lopes-Spanner of the Democratic Party (DP) did not attend the meeting, while DP leader Raquel Spanner-Carty left the hall before the vote.
Spanner-Carty was staunchly against the motion of dismissal, saying she appreciated the Commissioner’s “way of working” for the “past year and change.”
“I did not vote you in,” the DP leader said, turning to face Spanner-Schmidt. “But I will not vote you out.”
Commissioner Arlene Spanner-Schmidt (left) speaking during Thursday’s meeting. Next to her is Commissioner Reuben Merkman.
Leerdam cited a lack of transparency, communication, accountability and cohesiveness in the Executive Council as reasons to get rid of her own commissioner.
Spanner-Schmidt declined to speak at first, but later characterised the motion against her as “another disrespect.”
“I have at no point in time refused to work along with this coalition/party,” she said. “The public deserves the truth and I will not allow myself to be bullied by no narcissistic behaviour. I’m not going to allow it. If we are going to do things, it has to be done respectfully and in a decent manner. That is what I stand for, and if that, for some people, is not pride and confidence, then someone needs to get a dictionary.”
The meeting was paused for 10 minutes during the voting.
“This was not no meeting to be bashing anybody,” Leerdam said. “At the end of the day, I want the community to know that we are committed to governing and for the best interests of St. Eustatius.”
Another Island Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, when the identity of Spanner-Schmidt’s replacement may be disclosed. The Island Council is set to go on recess the following day, until August 9.
Spanner-Schmidt received 34 of PLP’s 979 votes in the Island Council election in March 2023. She was the eighth-highest vote-getter on the party’s slate of 13 candidates.
