Pete A. sees bruising battle for delegate seat

Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio is bracing for what he expects to be “a hard fight” for the Northern Marianas’ newly created congressional seat.

The NMI Republican Party has officially declared Tenorio as its official candidate for the historic election on Nov. 4, 2008. This came after the two other GOP members who had expressed interest in running—Rep. Ray Yumul and attorney Victorino Torres—dropped out of the race.

Tenorio will face at least five other candidates, most of them running independent. They are Sen. Luis Crisostimo, retired judge Juan T. Lizama, Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Gregorio Sablan, television talk show host John Oliver Gonzales, and businessman Patrick M. Calvo.

Addressing a crowd of about 50 local Republicans on Thursday evening, Tenorio called on the GOP members to put differences aside and support his bid to become the Commonwealth’s first ever delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I respect the differences among us. We are all entitled to our own positions. But in the end, I hope we can agree to pursue what is in the best interest of the party. Please help me to achieve this goal of being elected not only to represent the party, but the entire Commonwealth,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio acknowledged that he had taken views on certain issues that are not necessarily favored by some party members. His support for the recently approved immigration measure, for instance, had caused such controversy that he admittedly felt isolated whenever he was on island.

Speaker Arnold I. Palacios echoed Tenorio’s call for party unity. “There are those among us who may not agree with Pete on some issues, and that’s something we’re going to work out as a party. But I ask all of you, let us rally behind our candidate,” he said.

Senate President Pete P. Reyes also said the local Republicans should “pool our resources to make sure we bring Pete [Tenorio] back to Washington, D.C. He has the experience to lead the CNMI ahead.”

For his part, Rep. Diego T. Benavente said people should look at the big picture and consider Tenorio’s overall record as politician. “We’ve had our disagreements over one or two areas. But there has also been so much he has done over his one and a half term in Washington that has benefited the CNMI,” he said.

Still, it seems some party members need more convincing.

One prominent GOP member, who refused to be named, said Tenorio will not have his vote come Nov. 4. The source said Tenorio traded the interest of the Commonwealth for personal benefit. He said that, during the Covenant negotiations, Tenorio pushed for the military lease of Northern Marianas lands, despite the cheap price, because Tenorio had his eyes on the position of executive director of the transition team.

Tenorio has also been accused of supporting immigration “federalization” as a tradeoff for a congressional delegate seat for the Northern Marianas.