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Fitial plays coy on his delegate bet
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Posted on Oct 30 2008
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is playing it coy about his candidate for congressional delegate.
Fitial in a press conference yesterday said he is supporting a candidate, but offered no hints on the person’s identity.
“I know that the person I’m supporting behind the scene will win,” said Fitial.
The Commonwealth on Tuesday, Nov. 4, will elect its first-ever nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Approximately 13,000 voters have registered to cast their ballots in the historic election.
“Go out and vote for the best guy,” Fitial urged the voters. Asked to elaborate, he said, “The best guy would be whoever wins. It’s like when people ask me if I have found a running mate. I always answer, ‘Yes, but I don’t know who he is’.”
Nine candidates are running for CNMI delegate: Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, incumbent Sen. Luis Crisostimo, former Sen. David Cing, retired judge Juan Lizama, Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Gregorio Sablan, high school teacher John Davis, television talk show host John Oliver Gonzales, businessman Chong Won, and Saipan municipal councilor Felipe Atalig.
Fitial also refused to comment on his preference for U.S. president. While acknowledging the impact of U.S. politics on Commonwealth affairs, the governor hinted that having a Democrat or a Republican in the White House does not matter as far as his administration is concerned.
“I don’t have a problem since I’m Covenant,” he said.
Fitial, formerly a key member of the local Republican Party, helped establish the Commonwealth’s Covenant Party in 2001.
