Fitial: I will support Inos as next governor if he transfers to GOP

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said on Friday night he will support Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ candidacy as governor in 2014 if the latter joins him at the Republican Party, but Inos separately said on Saturday that he is more concerned about saving the economy and restoring work hours for government employees at this time rather than talk about politics.

Fitial said he can’t support Inos if he remains with the Covenant Party because the governor said he is now back with the Republican Party.

“It’s up to him,” Fitial told reporters during a meeting with his Blue Ribbon Committee led by Oscar Rasa at the Carolinian Utt in Garapan on Friday night.

The Blue Ribbon Committee seeks to merge the Covenant and Republican Parties, but Fitial prefers to call it “transitioning” the Covenant Party to the Republican Party.

Fitial rejoined the Republican Party in January this year, 10 years after forming the Covenant Party in 2001 for his gubernatorial bid. He won on his second try in 2005.

The governor reiterated that the CNMI will get more assistance from the federal government if the sitting governor is a member of the Republican Party.

He cited, for example, the now Republican Congress which will be more sympathetic to the needs of the CNMI if it’s headed also by a Republican.

When asked for comment, Inos told Saipan Tribune on Saturday afternoon that he’s surprised by the governor’s remarks because the governor has not personally told him anything about supporting his gubernatorial candidacy.

“I am focused on solving the government’s financial problems, in restoring the work hours of so many government employees and in improving the economy, so politics is the least of my worries… I am not into that at this point,” he said in a phone interview.

Inos reiterated that he’s staying with the Covenant Party.

“I’m not moving to the Republican Party. I am staying where I am. The Covenant Party is intact. I ran with the governor and I am hoping that we will continue to work together and resolve the problems together. Right now, his supporters and my supporters are getting divided, which may make it difficult to work toward addressing many of our problems in the CNMI,” the lieutenant governor said.

Fitial said if Republicans want him to, he would like to be chairman of the Republican Party again.

But because he is a sitting governor, he cannot be chairman or president of the party, unless the party bylaws are amended.

He served as Republican Party chairman for more than 10 years.

Fitial can no longer seek re-election after serving his second term as governor. His second and last term expires in 2014.

Fitial said after his term as governor, he will run as delegate “if the people want him to.”

During Fitial’s first term as governor, his lieutenant governor was Timothy P. Villagomez, who was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison in connection with a corruption case involving federal funds.

Fitial appointed Inos, who was then Finance secretary, to become lieutenant governor to replace Villagomez.

In his reelection bid, Fitial teamed up with Inos.

Inos said on Saturday he would like the governor to support him if he runs as governor, but he said it’s still too early to talk about 2014.

“We’re only one and a half years into our five-year term, and there are still a lot of things that need to be done,” Inos said.

But while Inos has been publicly saying he’s sticking with the Covenant Party, Fitial said he is confident that most of his Cabinet members will follow him to the Republican Party.

“I am still working on the lieutenant governor to join me and join the Republican Party because we came from there. The lieutenant governor may have his own reason right now but at the end of the day, I really would like the lieutenant governor to join the Republican Party,” Fitial said he has “committed” himself to supporting the lieutenant governor as the next governor.

“And that commitment still stands. The only way for me to make that commitment work is for him to join me in the Republican Party,” the governor said.

Fitial said he needs to “educate more” some of those who have not yet decided to go back or join the Republican Party.

Oscar Rasa, chairman of Fitial’s Blue Ribbon Committee whose goal is to merge the Covenant and Republican Parties, said he has 1,077 duly signed petitions so far gathered to joint the Republican Party.

But he said there are some 300 more who are willing to join but do not want their names revealed yet at this time.

There were some 50 individuals who attended the Blue Ribbon Committee meeting, which was capped with a dinner. In that meeting, some suggested the governor should “fire” his Cabinet members who do not want to join him at the Republican Party, while others talked about factions within the Covenant and Republican parties.

Fitial said while people call the Blue Ribbon Committee’s end goal as “merger,” he sees it more like a “transition.”

“We’ve been meeting with the chairman of the Republican Party… so this transition will take place. It’s just a matter of time… Actually it’s really not a merger, it’s just transitioning the Covenant Party over to the Republican (Party)” he said.

This means if Fitial’s Blue Ribbon Committee succeeds in its goal, the Covenant Party may cease to exist.

But the Covenant Party is still intact, with its set of officers and members, many of them are either lawmakers or holding other elected and appointed posts.

Fitial said for the sake of the whole CNMI, there should be a unified Republican Party.

“I’m not stupid to abandon the Covenant Party but for the sake of the people, I have no choice but to align myself with the strongest political party now in the United States,” the governor added.

Besides Covenant Party members who do not want to join the governor to the Republican Party, Fitial also has to contend with Republicans who do not want him back at the Republican Party.

“I understand the problem. The problem is those people in the Republican Party who feel that way, those are the members… who always change their belief. They are not the real Republicans,” said Fitial, who was former chairman of the Republican Party for more than 10 years.

The Republican Party has yet to hold a general membership meeting, four months after its scheduled meeting.