Six more Board Members to be elected at a later date
PHILIPSBURG:--- Some 136 members of the Dutch Taxi Drivers Association turned out to the general election called by the members of the interim board to elect a new board after they ousted the former board last Monday night. The DSTA consists of some 200 members. Members that are not "paying members" and even French Taxi Drivers that are members of the DSTA were not allowed to vote. The non-paying members were not allowed to enter the PMIA Hall even though they are Dutch nationals that are holding a Dutch taxi license.
Elected as President by 133 votes is the former secretary of the DSTA board Conrad Richardson (Cisco/Taxi 177) who served on the DSTA board for four years. Perla Rombley was elected as secretary outright, no other member of the DSTA contested against Rombley during the election, while Jacqueline Jensen (Taxi 126) was elected treasurer. Jensen is a former banker.
In a very short interview with members of the media after the election was held the taxi drivers who showed up for the election expressed joy and happiness as they managed to elect the people they feel can move the association further and also those that have the interest of the membership at heart. Richardson said he was happy to be elected President but refused to say how he intends to handle the situation regarding the former board to which he was part of. While he said he intends to move the association higher but he could not say what are some of the things he intends to do differently to further develop the association.
He said what transpired within the DSTA especially last Monday night he intends to keep all of it internal since he believes all the discrepancies are internal matters. When asked if he intends to take legal action against the former board or even have an independent investigation conducted, Richardson maintained that the problems of the DSTA are internal and most of all the former ousted President Otis Hughes was his best friend. When asked when the other members of the board will be elected? Richardson said that they intend to do so very soon. "As matter of fact we will elect the other members as soon as we get some rest." The association's new secretary Perla Rombley shared the same sentiments saying that they will deal with their problems internally and will consult with the members that elected them before taking any decisions. Jacqueline Jensen treasurer elect promised to take the position she now holds very seriously since she was a former banker, when asked if she will ensure that monies are not kept in drawers and financial accountability is given to the membership. Jenson just did not respond. Curtis Richardson (Taxi 227) shouted out when the board members were preparing to speak to the media that there will be no more monies hidden in drawers, but later said that he stands fully behind the new board and he is indeed a man of the land who will ensure that the new board members do things correctly.
When asked if the new board intends to change the DSTA articles of incorporation which would allow all paying members both French and Dutch to be eligible for voting and have the same rights as the Dutch Taxi Drivers, both the President Conrad Richardson and Perla Rombley said they cannot say what they will do now without consulting with the membership. It should be noted that these are some of the things the DSTA members told SMN News will happen when the new board is elected. They even said they would have presented a motion to stop all former members of the board from postulating Monday night but that did not take place.
Click here to view photos of the DSTA Election Monday night at PMIA Hall.