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CNMI mayors, municipal council members join AMIM
San Nicolas elected as vice president
CNMI mayors and municipal council members took their oaths as new members of the Association of Mariana Islands Mayors, Vice Mayors and Elected Municipal Council members at the Kanoa Resort yesterday morning.
Officers of the Association of Mariana Islands’ Mayors, Vice Mayors, and Elected Municipal Council Members hold a special meeting with the CNMI’s own mayors and municipal council members. From left, AMIM sergeant-at-arms Dale E. Alvarez (Mayor of Santa Rita, Guam), AMIM president Melissa B. Savares (Mayor of Dededo, Guam), and AMIM treasurer George O. Hocog (15th Rota Municipal Council chair). (Jayson Camacho)
AMIM president and Dededo Mayor Melissa B. Savares swore in the new members at the group’s first general meeting this year.
The newest members include Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, Northern Islands Mayor Jerome K Aldan, Tinian Mayor Joey P. San Nicolas, Rota Mayor Efraim M. Atalig, and members of the 13th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, 15th Tinian Municipal Council, and 15th Rota Municipal Council.
Savares urged the new members from the Commonwealth to work collaboratively with their counterparts in Guam.
Discussions focused on ways the Mariana Islands as a whole can work collaboratively to better the lives of many islanders.
Resolutions that were adopted last year by former AMIM members such as flights to each island and livestock and local produce were also discussed, while new matters taken up included cultural arts, crafts, and herbal vegetables, among others.
Savares also mentioned scholarship programs that AMIM provides, livestock and local produce to be sold among the islands through collaborative efforts called The Farmers Co-op, working on flights to be more efficient, addressing infestation that’s destroying the islands’ produce and plants, and promoting the islands through a cultural festival.
AMIM also elected a new vice president, San Nicolas, who succeeded former Tinian mayor Ramon Dela Cruz. San Nicolas was sworn in after winning the vice presidency with nine votes against SNIMC secretary Lareina Camacho.
“I want to thank everyone. Thank you for your support and I wish everyone the best of luck,” San Nicolas said.
Aldan also was thankful for finally making the Northern Islands a part of AMIM.
“It is a pleasure to be here and I am thankful that AMIM invited the Northern Islands to sit in and become a part of their team,” Aldan said.
AMIM was first formed in May 1990 and embraces Guam and the CNMI’s mayoral and municipal council leaderships. The goal and objectives of AMIM is to enhance, promote, and preserve the cultural traditions and heritage of the people of the Marianas.
It also aims to motivate greater citizen interest and participation in municipal matters, work to strengthen the competency of local governing bodies, improve the quality of life on the islands, and strive to develop more programs that will mutually benefit all the islands.
The next AMIM meeting will take place on Rota in November.
