Torres bids farewell to politics

Ralph DLG Torres

After 15 years spent in politics, including seven as the ninth governor of the CNMI, Ralph DLG Torres looks forward to enjoying private life by fishing, camping, and going up to the Northern Islands with his family and children.

“I am appreciating my time with the kids. And that’s something that I truly value today,” said the 43-year-old Torres, who appears happy, during a radio interview Friday, the last business day of his term as governor.

Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang will be sworn in today, Monday, as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

Torres said his children are excited for the summer, with his 8-year-old daughter wanting a fishing pole, so he got her one.

“I just want to do some things that I’ve wanted to do for a long time—spending more time with my kids and enjoying my private life,” he said.

Torres said he just realized over the holidays that the oldest of his six children might be leaving the CNMI next year for his studies. “So I will take this time to really enjoy my kids, my family,” he said.

Torres said he has no ambition or desire to go back to politics as of this time, but feels blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve the CNMI as a member of the House of Representatives, the Senate, as the CNMI’s lieutenant governor, and then as governor.

“That is something that I will be forever grateful,” he said.

Torres thanked all members in the community and his supporters who stood by him along the way, whether it’s his first campaign or his last.

He congratulated Palacios and Apatang again as they are sworn in today, Monday, “to take care of the community.”

“I wish them the best and I look forward for good things to happen here in the Commonwealth,” said Torres as he underscored the need to rally behind Palacios and Apatang and give them all the support because “we are one community, one love.”

As to what he considers his most challenging time as governor, Torres has no doubt that it’s the global COVID-19 pandemic, which he described as “very challenging” in the first six months to a year because nobody knew anything about it.

Torres said they had to shut down the government, implemented a curfew, and made unprecedented actions that sometimes were unpopular.

“But I had no problem making those decisions in making sure that we protect everyone in the community,” he said.

Possibly his second most challenging time was Typhoon Soudelor in 2015. At the time, he was the lieutenant governor.

Torres said that, although Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 was a much bigger disaster, they already had the network in place at the time.

He noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency landed on Saipan before the actual Yutu disaster. “I got my 24-hour declaration approved by President Trump. So there’s a lot of things that were in place. We had generators on the wells,” he said.

When Yutu came, Torres said they had more experience on the ground and a much better relationship with the CNMI’s federal partners, so they were able to move faster.

Despite the many challenges and issues that his administration faced, Torres said he never felt like quitting as a governor. “One is the dedication that I committed myself to this position. And I was given that blessing and there’s no way that I will turn that down and say I quit because it’s too much, there’s too much stress. Absolutely not,” he said.

Torres said he knows what the position expects and what the community expects.

“When I was given that blessing, I made sure that I served my term as best as I can despite all the challenges,” he said.

Torres was 36 when he became governor after then-governor Eloy S. Inos passed away in 2015. That made his the youngest governor across the entire United States. Even now at 43, he still holds that distinction.

The precious time Torres had with Inos is something that he treasures every day. “There’s advice that he’s given me that I take with me that I apply every day,” he said.

He remembers walking into Inos’ office and he was emotional when talking to the governor about the things that they should do to a certain department. Torres admits he was harsh, but the late governor was just laughing. He said Inos looked at him and stated that he understands his frustration and concern.

Inos advised him not to make a decision when upset or pissed off. Torres said Inos urged him to sleep on it and come back the following morning.

“Sure enough, I went to bed, came back the next day. It was absolutely not what I wanted to do. So I took that advice, not just at the office, but just in general, in my personal life,” he said, smiling.

Torres said he hopes that others can just take a breather and come back the next day and address the problem rather than making unwarranted decision based on emotions.

As for what he believes are his significant contributions, Torres said he worked hard on behalf of CW-1 workers in order for the CNMI to maintain a skilled labor workforce.

He said he’d been to Washington, D.C. numerous times on behalf of the Commonwealth’s workforce and business partners.

Torres said their 902 talks were very successful in both protecting the labor force as well as opening doors, and putting their chair on the table with the Department of Defense.

“And you see we have a much better relationship through both 902 talks. And one thing with the 902 is that it was both [the] Obama and Trump [presidencies],” he said.

Torres said he was able to work with the group on both the Democratic and Republican administrations.

He is thankful to the business partners that came out to support and that they came back successful.

If there is something that he feels he could have done better, Torres said some people stated that he should have been more out in giving more information to the community about the successes they had with his administration.