The first forum for delegate bets in hindsight

I’ve just left the first forum for the candidates to the delegate seat of the U.S. Congress. I want to thank the Kagman Kommunidat Association for giving me and the other candidates an opportunity to come together and have our positions heard. It was very apparent that they put a lot of thought and effort into this event.

I am curious as to the purpose of the so-called exit poll conducted at the forum. As we were repeatedly warned, this was not a debate but a forum to share information. The poll seems to negate that premise.

I was originally skeptical of the format and I must say that I still didn’t like the format. We only had one minute to answer the posed questions. This is the first federal election in the CNMI and the candidates had all of a minute to answer a question and all of seven minutes to talk about themselves or their positions. I shouldn’t complain because this was an occasion for people to learn a little about me. The media certainly seems to have taken no notice of this locally historic adventure and this was an opportunity to at least be seen by the public.

In any case, I’m really more of a debate kind of guy; however, I did learn some things about the other candidates that I think are worth sharing. I learned that Kilili has given this election some thought and probably has a genuine interest in a positive future for the Commonwealth. He and I have differences on how we should get there, but at least the destination is the same. I learned that Pete A. wants to do the right thing but has all of this party baggage to drag around. I also learned that he thinks that his experience for the past six years make him the best candidate. Now, it must also be said that he has had a burden around his neck in the form of the governor, but I’m still not sure that I would call his tenure in Washington thus far a success. I learned that Judge Lizama is running for the delegate seat because a friend of his isn’t. Huh? I learned that Congressman Cing is a political party man through and through. I learned that he has no concept of the power of the independents and the Congressional Black Caucus members that serve in the U.S. Congress. I learned that Chong Won doesn’t understand how federal grants work. Neither does he understand how legislation works at the U.S. congressional level. I re-learned that I couldn’t say anything in one minute. One minute is warm up for me. I learned that of all the candidates, John Gonzales is the one that most definitely should NOT represent the CNMI in the U.S. Congress. That is unless you want an unprincipled individual to represent us. The young man spoke at length of his stellar qualities, his principles, his integrity and his respect. He agreed with the rule to make no attacks on any of the candidates. He lied. At his first opportunity he launched into a diatribe on the shortcomings of each of the past political leaders running for office. The only people spared were Chong Won and me. When I spoke to him about it he said he appreciated my opinion. My opinion? The man went back on his word, period. My point is this. If he will lie about a small thing like that in order to try to get elected, what other questionable shortcomings does he have?