Let’s keep moving forward

I wanted to address some grossly unfair comments I’ve seen lately from one or two persons regarding Governor Inos, especially related to the Retirement Fund Settlement Agreement. First of all, if you followed the case, you would recognize that it was only through the willingness of Governor Inos to, on a whim of the court, show up and answer questions and ultimately agree to discuss a settlement that we are not counting down the final months until the run-out of funds, and retirees receiving no benefit payments. The government had counsel and the governor was under no obligation to come in and take the stand and answer questions. I was there. It was a courageous thing to do, seeing that he’d served as governor at that point for about a month, and I cannot imagine that any other governor would have put himself/herself in the hot seat like that. Even the judge seemed outwardly surprised that he agreed to take the stand. It was only through Governor Inos’ participation that an agreement was even a possibility. Governor Inos deserved an immense amount of credit for doing that.

Let’s be clear: Had a settlement agreement not been reached, Johnson’s attorneys were prepared to continue litigating the case. Fourteen to 16 other cases related to the Fund were also ready to be litigated as well, with announcements made by Fund attorneys and others of possible new lawsuits. Not only would the bills not have gone away, they would continue unhindered and the Fund would continue to be depleted of revenue without any meaningful recourse for funding or a way forward. It was only through the direct participation of Goveror Inos that there was a resolution. Otherwise, instead of talking about a 25-percent deferment and ways the Legislature might come up with funds to cover that, we’d be talking about the handful of months left in the life of the Fund. Governor Inos deserves a lot of credit for coming down into the trenches to personally take charge of this. Again, he didn’t have to…and I can’t imagine any other governor doing what he did.

We are all aware of the mismanagement through the years that led to the state the Fund was in, and it is reasonable to argue that the design of the Fund itself was in no way sustainable. No retirement fund that sees individuals retiring at full retirement in their 30s and 40s is “sustainable.” You have people who look like they’re many years away from a legitimate retirement age talking about being retired for the past 15 years! That is not an example of any kind of “sustainable” system.

Had it not been for Governor Inos’ willingness to personally participate, we’d right now be watching 10 to 14 Fund-related cases being waged in the courts, with the involvement of numerous other attorneys, with no end in sight, and we’d all be lamenting over the last few months of monies available in the Fund’s coffer. Because of the willingness of the governor to participate directly, we are instead at a place where the minimum payment to the Settlement Fund has been met this year, and we’re now talking about solutions to seeing the minimum met each year and restoring the 25 percent, instead of talking about how many months are left before retirees see no check at all.

As a member of an organization of active member employees, Governor Inos did not hesitate to accept a meeting with our group, and again personally saw to it that we were provided with regular updates about changes we asked for to the early version of the bill that lead to Pubic Law 18-02, and kept us updated on the status of that bill. Again, the governor could have simply told us that the matter was with the Legislature, the Fund and/or courts. Instead of brushing us off, he readily met with us and subjected himself to our questions, and then went out of his way afterwards to see we received information we’d asked for.

It is hard to comprehend the vast changes that have taken place over the course of the short year of the Governor Inos administration. Where the Retirement Fund is concerned, he has directed more financial resources there than it has seen in many years. He pursued the extradition of the former attorney general. He supported the CNMI’s inclusion in SNAP. He’s stood strong in the position that Tinian be utilized for the divert air base and not Saipan and made it very clear that the military use of Pagan or Tinian for artillery ranges or bombing is unacceptable. He’s also spoken strongly about the dangers that any increase in particular military use of our waters and land would pose to our wildlife and marine mammals. He killed the $190 million SDLLC power arrangement and won in court. We have seen CUC lay out a way forward to meet its green energy requirements. He’s supported the inclusion of the CNMI in federal programs like the Workforce Opportunity Tax Credit and SNAP. We have a governor who has been able to work with the Legislature. We have a governor who for the first time has talked about a solution to ridding the island of dilapidated and vacant buildings. We have a governor who’s finally talked about the importance of tourism and getting more rooms online. We have a governor who is willing to pull out the old plans for a cultural center and under whose watch we’ve finally seen projects like the agriculture market and Chamolinian village begin to get off the ground again. We have a governor who has shown that whatever criticisms one might appoint to him—he cares.

Employees are no longer living in fear that they will be terminated for political reasons. Employees are no longer living in fear that they cannot be critical of the policies of their government.

We have a governor who actually takes the time to attend meetings, and show up at functions and events himself. Time and time again, whether it is showing up at a Humanities Council program, or showing up at an art awards ceremony, or showing up at the Green Gala, or reinstituting a Labor Day activity to honor workers, or speaking at meetings of human resource professionals…Governor Inos has been there.

Many of the recent attacks on the governor, it seems to me, have been purely political (and schoolyard). When the governor attends more community activities than any I’ve seen from any governor, it is not only unfair but despicable that one would use someone’s necessary medical treatments as some means of political attack. The fact is, this governor as I’ve mentioned has gone out of his way to show up when invited. It’s the first time in many years, in fact, that we’ve actually seen a governor in person at many of the annual events.

And no, not everyone is going to get every single thing they want. I am frankly glad that the governor used discretion in determining who he would relieve or not relieve of duty when he took office. It would have been unsettling to me to see someone come in and get rid of everyone, for no reason other than politics. That is exactly the kind of tyrannical behavior I hope we never see. And I don’t agree with every decision the governor makes, but he has demonstrated he listens to and considers other ideas and criticisms…and that to me is more important.

The governor has a job to do, and as citizens we expect him to do that job to the best of his ability and exceptionally. That said, we have a duty to be fair in our assessment of how the governor is handling the job. I say, considering all of the circumstances, he has handled the job exceptionally. There is an overwhelming feeling of positivity in the community right now. That we have a governor who listens, and a governor who cares, and a governor with a conscience, plays a big role in that positivity.

Let us not poison an atmosphere of fair and constructive criticism with the political ends of a group of people who are still angry with the ouster of the former governor, and seek to use every avenue to see particular remnants of that regime returned to office. I’m glad we’re moving forward in the positive way we have been.

To Governor Inos, I say thank you.

P.S.: For the record and for full disclosure, I am not related in any way to the governor, I am not a member of the old Republicans or the new Republicans or the independent Republicans, nor am I a member of the old Democrats or the new Democrats, I am not a close personal friend of the governor’s, nor am I a member of his election “team.” I have not attended a political meeting of any sort, and I am not seeking higher office or a Cabinet position of any sort.