Kenneth Mapp

Kenneth Ezra Mapp (born November 2, 1955) is an American politician who served as the eighth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, from 2015 to 2019.

He is registered Republican, but ran as an independent.

Kenneth Ezra Mapp was born on November 2, 1955, in Brooklyn, New York, to Al Mapp and Vashti Hewitt Mapp of St. Croix.

He was one of four siblings.

Mapp moved to Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1961, where he was raised by his maternal grandmother, Almina N. Hewitt, in Estate Rattan.

He graduated from St. Croix Central High School in 1973.

Mapp has attended New York City Community College of City University of New York and the University of the Virgin Islands, but has not earned a bachelor's degree.

He joined the New York City Police Department soon after graduating from high school in 1973 and was based in the 83rd Police Precinct in Brooklyn.

He later became a police officer in the Virgin Islands and was elected president of the Virgin Islands Police Benevolent Association.

Mapp was elected as a senator in the Virgin Islands Legislature in three separate elections.

Mapp was elected to the 15th Legislature of the Virgin Islands in 1982, his first elected office.

In 1994, gubernatorial candidate Roy L. Schneider chose Mapp as his running mate for lieutenant governor in the election.

Schneider and Mapp jointly campaigned as independent candidates.

Schneider and Mapp were elected Governor and Lt. Governor in a special gubernatorial runoff election held on November 22, 1994.

They defeated the Democratic gubernatorial ticket, which consisted of then-Lt.

Gov. Derek M. Hodge and his running mate, Alfred O. Heath.

A former three-term Virgin Islands Senator, Mapp served as the Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands from 1995 until 1999.

Governor Roy Schneider and Lt. Governor Kenneth Mapp were inaugurated to a four-year term on January 2, 1995.

However, Schneider and Mapp had a publicly strained relationship while in office and the two often did not speak to one another during their four-year tenure.

After leaving office as lieutenant governor in 1999, however, he completed the six-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School (which has no formal educational requirements) and received a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mapp also completed other fellowships at Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Mapp has worked as a police trainee in New York City and a police officer in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Schneider and Mapp did not seek re-election in 1999.

Instead, Schneider ran with Finance Commissioner Juan Centeno as his running mate and they were defeated in the election by Democratic candidate Charles Turnbull and his running mate, Gerard Luz James, who were sworn in on January 4, 1999.

After leaving office as lieutenant governor, Mapp earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP 159) at Harvard Business School.

Though he ran for lieutenant governor as independent, Mapp had changed his party affiliation from Republican by 2001.

Mapp did not run for governor in 2002.

He campaigned for Governor Turnbull who was re-elected to a second term.

In 2002, Governor Charles Turnbull appointed Mapp as the Virgin Island's Public Finance Authority's Director of finance and administration.

Mapp raised millions of dollars for the government and Hovensa, the territory's largest private sector employer.

The Public Finance Authority acquired its first ever investment grade ratings on VI government-backed securities during Mapp's tenure.

Mapp also managed several major capital projects and served on the Governor's financial and budget team.

Mapp was an independent candidate for Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2006 and 2010, but was defeated both times by Democrat John de Jongh.

He ran in the 2014 gubernatorial election for Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, defeating Donna Christian-Christensen, the longtime Delegate to Congress, in a run-off.

Mapp ran for a second term in 2018, but was defeated in the runoff election by Democrat Albert Bryan.

He would later be elected as a senator in the 18th and 20th Legislatures as well.

He chaired the Committee on Public Safety and Judicial Affairs and was a standing member on the Committee on Finance.

Additionally, Mapp held other positions within the Virgin Islands government.

He served as the assistant director of the Industrial Development Commission, which later became the Economic Development Authority.

Mapp also became the director of the Consumer Services Administration, which is now the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs.