13K voters troop to polls today to select 1st NMI delegate

The Commonwealth will elect its first-ever congressional delegate today, exactly 22 years after Northern Marianas residents were granted U.S. citizenship.

Some 13,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots in the historic election, as the Commonwealth marks Citizenship Day, the day that President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the U.S. trusteeship agreement under the United Nations no longer applicable to the CNMI and, under the terms of the Covenant, declared qualified residents of the CNMI became U.S. citizens.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial urged all registered voters to go out and vote for the CNMI’s first non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I am appealing to all voters to join me in electing our very first delegate to the U.S. Congress,” said Fitial, who will be voting in Election Precinct 3-B at the Garapan Elementary School today.

While not officially endorsing any of the nine candidates, the governor called on the voters “to select the candidate most likely to protect our economy, our jobs, and our rights under our Covenant agreement with the United States.”

“The people of the Commonwealth will elect a delegate to represent them, not the federal government, in Washington, D.C.,” said Fitial. “I believe this delegate should protect the rights of the people under the Covenant. And among those rights are the right to local self-government and the right to a progressively higher standard of living for our Commonwealth.”

Expectations

Interviews with local voters indicate the electorate’s basic expectations from whoever wins the election.

Pauline Arurang, a Kagman resident and mother of three children, said she hopes the winning candidate will do something to help reduce the cost of power and ensure that the day-to-day operations of the schools are not interrupted by power outages and water problems.

For Joaquin Sablan, a local resident and president of the nonprofit group Napu Life Foundation, the main task of the CNMI’s first delegate should be to help improve the local economy and promote better relations between the CNMI and the United States. “We need someone who can communicate our needs to Congress,” he said.

Endorsement

The campaign of Pete A. Tenorio, the CNMI’s incumbent resident representative to Washington, D.C., yesterday released copies of letters from two key Republican members of Congress supporting his bid for delegate.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in his letter said Tenorio’s inclusion in Congress “will add a wealth of experience in regards to issues that are most important to the people of the CNMI.”

“Your work on issues like energy, healthcare, education, defense, among a host of other important matters that you have worked closely with me and other members of Congress, will make you an asset in Congress,” Cole said.

Oklahoma Representative and House Republican Leader John Boehner also endorsed Tenorio’s candidacy and welcomed Tenorio, if elected, to caucus with House Republicans during the 111th Congress, which is expected to remain under Democrat control.

“While delegates to the House cannot cast a deciding vote on legislation on the floor, they can cast important votes and do substantive work on the committee level. As a result of your experience, it is my intention to support your assignment to the House Natural Resources Committee, which includes the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs,” Boehner said.

Cooperation

Fitial, in a statement, pledged to work with the new delegate next year. He said he will encourage the new delegate to address deficiencies in the federalization law and in the federal minimum wage law as it applies to both the CNMI and American Samoa. He will also urge the delegate to push for CNMI’s call for control over its submerged lands.

“The delegate provision of the federalization law is the only good portion of the new federal law,” said Fitial. “Although I had long supported the establishment of a non-voting delegate for the CNMI, I wish this issue was treated separately from the federalization law; I had hoped that we would have received a delegate before the federalization of our local labor laws.”

Candidates

In addition to Tenorio, the other candidates running for delegate are Sen. Luis Crisostimo, former Election Commission executive director Gregorio C. Sablan, retired judge Juan T. Lizama, former senator David Cing, Saipan municipal councilor Felipe Atalig, local television talk show John Oliver Gonzales, high school teacher John Davis, and businessman Chong Won.

Of the candidates, only Tenorio, a Republican, has strong ties with a national political party. Cing represents the Northern Marianas Democratic Party, which has yet to get official recognition from its national counterpart. Crisostimo claims to be a member of the national Democratic Party, but is running as an independent after the local Democrats declined to endorse him. All of the other candidates are running as independents.

Delegate Act

The Northern Marianas is the last U.S. jurisdiction to get congressional representation The law, which in May 2008 granted the Commonwealth the delegate seat, also allowed Washington to take over labor and immigration controls in the Commonwealth.

Under the measure, Northern Marianas will have a representative with limited voting powers to the U.S. House of Representatives. Similar to House members and other delegates, the CNMI delegate will be elected to Congress every two years. He can serve on committees, as well as vote on legislation at the committee level. But floor voting will not be permitted.

The CNMI delegate will receive the same compensation, allowances, and benefits as a member of the House of Representatives. Each member of Congress is paid almost $170,000 a year.

To be eligible, a candidate must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen and CNMI resident for at least seven years before the election, and a qualified CNMI voter on the date of the election. A candidate for CNMI delegate must not be running for any other office.

The CNMI delegate will assume office on the third day of January after the election.