advocated the idea from the 1920s. Its achievement in 1970 was an undeniable
milestone in self-governance for the Virgin Islands.

 Gubernatorial elections have had two effects that had not been widely
predicted. They brought race into greater prominence as a political issue. A major
contributing factor was that the Elective Governor Act came at the end of the 1960s, the
decade of the Black Revolution in the United States and also a decade that had
brought substantial growth in the local white population and greater white economic
control. A substantial percentage of the black population of the Virgin Islands believed
that after hundreds of years of appointed governors, all of whom were white with only
four exceptions in the last decades of appointed rule, it was incumbent that the early
elected governors be black.10 Consequently, the last appointed white governor,
Ralph M. Paiewonsky, who was considered during the mid 1960s to be the leading
contender for the possibility of an elected governorship, was not even nominated by
his party for the first election. Of the six gubernatorial elections from 1970 through
1990, race was an issue, in varying degrees, in at least three.

 The other unpredicted effect of the elective governorship was that it weakened
the political party system in the Virgin Islands. During the 1960s, a strong party system
seemed to have been emerging. However, the singularity of the governorship allowed
candidates with strong personal appeal to seek support from voters irrespective of
political affiliations. The first successful gubernatorial candidate, for example, had
been a lifelong Democrat who became a Republican only a couple years before the
election. When his fellow Republican Lieutenant Governor resigned, he chose a
Democrat to fill the position. Later gubernatorial candidates also chose running mates
of different parties and ran as independents rather than by party.

 Congressional Delegate Act of 1972

 In 1968 and 1970, the Virgin Islands had elected and sent to Washington,
 without Federal sanction, a delegate to represent the people of the Virgin Islands
 before the Congress.

 On April 10, 1972, a Federal law was signed by the President which provided
 that Guam and the Virgin Islands should each be provided a nonvoting Delegate to the
 United States House of Representatives. Its provisions were:

 A. Beginning with the general election in November,
 1972 and every two years thereafter, the Delegate
 would be elected by the persons qualified to vote for
 members of the local legislature. The Delegate
 would be elected at-large, on a separate ballot, and
 by a majority of the votes cast.

 B. If no candidate for Delegate received a majority, a
 run-off election would be held between the