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Torres will reconsider resignation if…
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Posted on Mar 29 2008
Rep. Stanley T. Torres says he will only revoke his resignation as a House committee chairman if his colleagues reconsider the confirmation of an appointee to the Public Utilities Commission.
“I am out of PUTC now,” Torres said yesterday. “If they want me to reconsider my resignation, they will have to reconsider their vote on Kimberlyn Hinds.”
Torres resigned as chairman of the House Committee of Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications because he felt the committee was pressured to “rubberstamp” the appointment of Kimberlyn King Hinds to the utility regulatory board.
Torres, along with three other House members, had wanted Hinds to go through a public hearing. But the majority declined and went ahead with a vote. He also believed that Hinds’ ties with a Tinian water bottling company meant a potential conflict of interest.
House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios on Thursday expressed hope that Torres would reconsider his resignation.
But Torres, in an interview yesterday, stood firm on his decision.
Rep. Tina Sablan, one of the lawmakers who voted against Hinds’ confirmation, agreed with Torres’ sentiments. She said a public hearing would have provided an opportunity to clear the air on Hinds’ appointment.
“Maybe there was no conflict of interest. But we won’t know now,” she said.
Sablan also took issue with the confirmation process as a whole. She expressed regret that many nominations are not being reviewed properly.
“These are serious positions we’re filling in. The public should have an assurance that people are qualified to hold those positions,” she said.
The creation of the Public Utilities Commission had suffered major delay because of the administration’s difficulty in finding suitable appointees. Hinds’ confirmation was necessary to bring PUC to a quorum. She joins Viola Alepuyo and Kyle Calabrese.
