Municipal leaders back Covenant bets

Another mayor has joined the Covenant Party in supporting the gubernatorial team of Benigno R. Fitial and Timothy P. Villagomez. This time the mayor comes from the island of Rota in the form of Benjamin Manglona, a former CNMI Lt. Governor under the Republican Party during the Guerrero administration.

Manglona joins Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela in supporting the Covenant Party. Last year, Tudela left the Democratic Party to join the Covenant Party and support Ben and Tim’s campaign for “Better Times.” At a Precinct 3 Covenant Party pocket meeting in Oleai last night, Manglona publicly announced his endorsement of Ben and Tim and “Better Times” before a crowd of about a hundred enthusiastic supporters.

“We now have the strong support of mayors from the three main islands,” said Covenant Party chair Martin A. Manglona, referring to the mayors of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, all of whom back Ben and Tim for governor and lt. governor.

Tinian Mayor Francisco M. Borja, a former Democrat, now leads the Covenant Party on Tinian. He is the chairman of the party on Tinian.

“Because of the powerful candidacy of the Fitial-Villagomez gubernatorial ticket, which is widely expected to show very strong results this year, many Republicans and Democrats are turning to the Covenant Party to address our struggling economy,” said John S. Del Rosario Jr., the chair for the Committee to Elect Ben & Tim for Better Times.

With Manglona campaigning for Ben and Tim and a full slate of candidates on Rota, the Covenant Party expects to win Rota, a crucial district in the 2005 gubernatorial elections, given the divided votes on Saipan.

In the 2001 elections, the Fitial-Inos Covenant ticket lost Rota by a very small margin of votes. In the 2003 midterm elections, Fitial won a seat in the House of Representatives by garnering the highest number of votes in Precinct 3, the second largest election precinct in the Commonwealth. Fitial received a total of 1,129 votes.

Tim Villagomez, the Speaker’s running mate and the current House vice speaker, won 1,530 votes in Precinct 1, the largest precinct in the Commonwealth, in the 2003 midterm elections, which was Villagomez’s first bid for public office.

The Covenant Party expects Ben and Tim to post strong results in precincts 1 and 3, the two largest election precincts in the Commonwealth, where Ben and Tim showed very strong results in the successful 2003 midterm elections.

“Assuming we maintain our base in Precincts 1 & 3 and maintain reasonable strength in precincts 2, 4 and 5, where we have some strong candidates running, Rota may well push us over the top,” said party chair Martin A. Manglona, predicting a Covenant victory and a new administration. (PR)