Ex-governor Babauta is GOP president

Former governor Juan N. Babauta is now the Republican Party of the NMI’s president as a result of Friday night’s election of officers at a general membership meeting dotted by tense discussions over the acceptance of 1,077 new and returning members, mostly from the Covenant Party.

Former Covenant Party members almost outnumbered GOP members during Friday night’s meeting at the Garapan Central Park.

Babauta is not saying whether he will run again in the next delegate election.

“I am leaving everything open. Nothing is off the table when it comes to politics but tonight, I say to you and the general public that I am here to serve as chairman of the party. I’m in a supportive role and whoever wants to run for any public office, I’m going to be there to return the favor,” he said.

Danny Aquino, a member of the Republican Party’s executive committee, challenged the party’s acceptance of 1,077 individuals, considering that the whole executive committee was not consulted nor made aware of the application forms until during the general membership meeting.

“The chairman can’t unilaterally accept the 1,000-plus applications. …There are procedures. I don’t object to anyone of you coming into the party but let’s do it the right way,” he said.

He said he does not want to lose any more Republican members especially with the 2012 elections just around the around, just because the party does not live by its rules.

Outgoing president Juan I. Tenorio, who did not want to seek re-election, said he received on Friday morning over 1,000 requests to join the Republican Party.

Some members, including former speaker Arnold Palacios who is now the director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, said the party should accept those who turned in their applications to become members. The crowd applauded.

Babauta said while he acknowledges Aquino’s concerns, he accepted the applicants to become members of the Republican Party.

“All of you Covenant members who want to be Republicans, you went through the process. That process has been completed and it’s official. All of you are now Republican Party members,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.

Babauta’s election as party president came a few days after Fitial hired him for a $1 contract to become the governor’s special adviser to the United States Federal Regional Council.

Babauta left yesterday for San Francisco, California where he will be joining Fitial to attend this week’s meeting of the Region 9 Federal Regional Council.

Former speaker Oscar Rasa, chairman of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s Blue Ribbon Committee whose end goal is to dissolve the Covenant Party and transition its members to the Republican Party, said the application forms he submitted on Friday comply with the Republican Party bylaws.

Rasa said there are still some 300 pending application forms that they hope to turn in soon.

When Tenorio opened the floor for the election of five board members, Babauta was the first one to be nominated.

Besides Babauta, the others who were elected as board members were DFW’s Richard Seman, Ramon “Ray” Salas, Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero and Coastal Resources Management director Rita Chong.

When the five were elected, they met briefly to select among themselves the new officers.

After emerging from their meeting, Tenorio announced that Babauta was chosen president; Chong as first vice president, Deleon Guerrero as second vice president, Salas as treasurer, and Seman as secretary.

Their terms took effect immediately.

The members also re-elected Roman “Bo” Palacios Jr. as national committeeman, and elected Viola Alepuyo as national committee woman. Alepuyo is a Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission board member and Retirement Fund counsel.

Palacios clarified that the new national committeeman and committeewoman’s term won’t start until September 2012.

He said technically, MaryLou Ada is still the national committeewoman.

Palacios said he will again work with other party officials to bring to the CNMI the new Republican National Committee chair, Reince Priebus.

In 2010, Palacios and Tenorio were able to bring to the CNMI then RNC chair Michael Steele.

Palacios said that Priebus had said he will support all the U.S. territories, not just the CNMI.

“It’s important to bring the chairman over just to see how the territories are because we’re completely different than a state. We’re smaller but in any other respect we’re more difficult to manage,” he said, referring to the diversity of opinion and culture.

During Friday’s meeting, Tenorio thanked party members for working with him during his two-year term and reiterated that he will no longer be active in politics.

Among the former Covenant Party members who were at the Republican Party general membership meeting were Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao, Public Lands Secretary Oscar Babauta, Customs director Jesus Mafnas, Marianas Public Land Trust chair Alvaro Santos, and Zoning Board chair Diego Blanco.

Only a few elected Republicans showed up at the meeting.

Babauta’s former opponent in the delegate election, former House floor leader Joseph Camacho who was Fitial’s candidate in 2009, was also at the meeting.