3 candidates for special election

Three candidates for the Nov. 4 special election to fill a Senate seat vacated by former Saipan senator Ray Yumul have filed their petitions, two of them a few hours before the close of yesterday’s 4pm deadline.

Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Robert A. Guerrero confirmed that these three individuals turned in their petitions to run for the special election by the deadline: Commerce Secretary Sixto Igisomar of the Republican Party, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. board trustee Roy Rios as an independent bet, and former Fire chief Jesus M. Castro, also as an independent candidate.

Rios filed his candidacy on Tuesday, a day after the Republican Party board chose Igisomar as the official GOP bet for the special election. Rios was not the second top vote getter during the GOP central committee voting. It was former Legislative Bureau director Glenna SP Reyes who came in a close second; with Igisomar leading by only one vote.

Castro, meanwhile, filed his candidacy at around 1pm yesterday. Besides being a former Fire Division chief, Castro is also a retired U.S. Army officer and a former teacher in the CNMI and Guam.

Igisomar, currently the Lottery Commission chairman, was the last one to file, around 1:30pm yesterday, flanked by his family, campaign chair Daniel S. Camacho, supporters and fellow Republicans.

“I humbly ask for people’s vote of confidence and support,” Igisomar told Saipan Tribune.

He said his goal is to work harder to contribute more to the CNMI’s economic sustainability, stability and expansion, to be able to address the islands’ growing financial obligations, including those related to the retirement system.

Igisomar reiterated his gratefulness to the Republican Party for their support. He also urged voters to look into each candidate’s qualifications carefully. If and when elected to the Senate, he vowed to work closely with the Senate and House of Representatives members, along with the Executive Branch, as well as to the people.

Election Commission’s Guerrero said the initial plan was to hold a special election commission board meeting this Saturday to certify the candidacies for the special election.

But because there won’t be a quorum as most of the members are outside the CNMI, it is likely that the candidates will be “certified by default” by Sept. 22 unless the commission finds any of the three candidates unqualified to run in the special election.

Guerrero said as of yesterday, the commission reviewed Rios’ qualifications and he meets the criteria. Because the two others filed their petitions yesterday, the commission would be able to complete the review of their qualifications by today.

The election commission chief added that they expect the 20,000 ballots for the Nov. 4 general elections to arrive on Saipan this weekend. There are nearly 18,000 registered voters for the general polls.

He said the ballots for the special election will be printed locally. For the special election, they printed 17,000 ballots, for some 15,000 Saipan voters.

Gov. Eloy S. Inos declared a special election for Nov. 4, coinciding with the general elections, to help save the government nearly $100,000 by holding them on the same date.

The CNMI may also be headed for a gubernatorial runoff race in November, if not one of the four gubernatorial teams get at least 50 percent plus one of the votes cast in the general elections.