Next House minority leader up in the air

Posted on Oct 06 2020

Minority members in the House of Representatives will have to wait who Gov. Ralph DLG Torres will appoint to replace Edwin K. Propst, who resigned last week as representative for Precinct 1, before they could decide on who will serve as the bloc’s minority leader.

Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) said in an interview Thursday that the minority bloc hasn’t even discussed who will replace Propst as minority leader.

As of yesterday, House Speaker Blas Jonathan T. Attao (R-Saipan) has yet to write Torres to declare the position vacant.

After Attao informs Torres about the vacancy, Torres has to appoint Propst’s replacement, who is the losing candidate who received the most number of votes for Precinct 1 at the 2018 elections.

Former Department of Public Safety official Franklin Babauta is first in line. He has yet to announce his interest in serving Propst’s remaining term of three months.

“Maybe from there, we will discuss or decide who [will be the new minority leader],” Villagomez said, adding that minority bloc members have yet to discuss that matter.

“We are not looking so much yet right now regarding the next minority leader,” he added.

Ferdie De La Torre | Reporter

Ferdie Ponce de la Torre is a senior reporter of Saipan Tribune. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has covered all news beats in the CNMI. He is a recipient of the CNMI Supreme Court Justice Award. Contact him at ferdie_delatorre@Saipantribune.com

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