Vargrave A. Richards (born September 16, 1950 in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

) is an

American Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

politician and educator. Richards served as the

Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

from 2003 until 2007 during the second term of Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Charles Turnbull.

Early life

Richards is a former

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. Richards attended the College of the Virgin Islands, now known as the

University of the Virgin Islands The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands. History UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially beca ...

, and was a part-time student at

Antioch University Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. Founded in 1852 as Antioch College, its first president was politician, abolitionist, and education reformer Horace Mann. It changed its n ...

from 1969 until 1973. Vargrave does not hold a bachelor's degree.

Political career

Vargrave Richards served as a Democratic

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

for four terms in the

Legislature of the Virgin Islands The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of 15 senators, elected to two- ...

. He served as the President of the Senate during the 23rd Legislature, which met from 1999 until 2000.

Lieutenant governor

Democratic Governor

Charles Wesley Turnbull Charles Wesley Turnbull (February 5, 1935 – July 3, 2022) was a Virgin Islander politician, educator and historian who served as the sixth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1999 to 2007. Biography Charles Wesley Tur ...

had a very strained relationship with Lieutenant Governor

Gerard Luz James Gerard Luz Amwur James II (born March 18, 1953) is an American Virgin Islander politician, funeral director, and businessman. James served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1999 until 2003 and was the president o ...

during his first term in office. During the 2002 gubernatorial election, James challenged Turnbull for governor, so Turnbull needed a new running mate for lieutenant governor if he chose to run for a second term. On June 18, 2002, Turnbull ended speculation by announcing that he would seek re-election as governor at a rally at Gertrude’s Restaurant on

. Turnbull chose Vargrave Richards as his running mate for lieutenant governor. The Turnbull-Richards ticket defeated James in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

and won the general gubernatorial election in the fall, which gave Turnbull a second term as governor. Governor Turnbull and Lt. Governor Vargrave Richards were inaugurated into office on January 6, 2003.

2006 gubernatorial candidacy

Incumbent Governor Charles Turnbull could not seek a third term in the 2006 gubernatorial election due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

. Vargrave Richards, who was serving as the Lt. Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands at the time, announced that he would run for governor in 2006 as a Democrat. Richards chose Roy Jackson, a

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

, as his running mate. Richards was defeated in the Democratic gubernatorial

by businessman John de Jongh. De Jongh received 7,041 votes (52.28%), while Richards came in second with 3,894 votes (28.91%). The gubernatorial ticket of Edgar Ross and

Lorraine Berry Lorraine Berry (November 15, 1949 — July 19, 2010) was a 12-term senator and 2-term Senate President of the United States Virgin Islands Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Personal life Lorraine Berry was born on November 15, 1949, on the isl ...

came in third with 2,524 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Vargrave 1950 births Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians Living people Lieutenant Governors of the United States Virgin Islands Senators of the Legislature of the United States Virgin Islands People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico University of the Virgin Islands alumni United States Virgin Islands educators