Sablan thanks Marianas voters for their trust and confidence

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) expressed his gratitude to the people of the Northern Marianas, who re-elected him to office on Tuesday for a fifth term. The unofficial vote tally from the Commonwealth Election Commission gave Sablan 9,417 votes, 868 more than he won in the last election in 2014.

“Thanks to the people of the Northern Marianas for your trust and confidence in the work that I do for you in the U.S. Congress,” Sablan said, as the vote results were announced. “Over the last eight years I have tried to use every opportunity I could find to make life better for everyone here in our islands. Today’s vote of confidence in the work I have been doing only redoubles my determination to raise the standard of living in the Marianas and fulfill the Covenant promise to make us truly part of the American family.

“We have accomplished so much already, but I can see that how much more we have to do. And I am ready to get right back to work in Washington on Monday.”

Sablan’s campaign for re-election focused on his long list of legislative accomplishments. Even though the Northern Marianas had never been represented in the U.S. Congress before Sablan was elected in 2008, he has successfully increased funding for island schools, roads, water systems, for food and medical assistance for the poor, and to address violence against women.

He was also able to enact laws giving back ownership of submerged lands to the people of the Marianas and to extend the immigration transition period, important to the islands’ economy.

“The job of a legislator is to get legislation passed into law,” Sablan said.

“Looking ahead I am eager to be involved in the rewrite of the Higher Education Act in the next Congress. I want to be sure that community colleges, like our own Northern Marianas College, continue to get the federal support they need and that students, no matter what their family’s economic status, can go as far as their own hard work and determination will take them.

“I am also ready to renew the effort to reform our nation’s immigration laws, especially as they apply to the Marianas. I want to ensure that those who have lived here for decades can remain and that families are never separated. And I want to make sure that our economy has the workers it needs to grow and prosper.”

Sablan will be sworn in for his fifth term, when the 115th U.S. Congress convenes the week of Jan. 2, 2017. (PR)