NMI Democrats: Making the CNMI heard in DC

A delegation of NMI Democrats returned to Saipan last week from Washington, D.C., where they attended the winter conference of the Democratic National Committee last March 8-10, 2018, and met with Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP).

The CNMI Democrats were represented in Washington, D.C., by party chair Daniel O. Quitugua, Democratic National Committee-persons Michael A. White and Nola Hix, CEC member Bobbie Iglesias, and party CEO Stephen C. Woodruff.

“Our goal was to make the people of the CNMI heard at the national level of the Democratic Party, and we succeeded in that goal,” Quitugua said. “We had extensive meetings with high-level officials and staff of the national Democratic Party.”

The NMI delegation participated in the meetings and activities of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Caucus, the Western Regional Caucus, the Seniors Council, the Black Caucus, and the LGBT Caucus, as well as the DNC members-only session on Friday and the general session on Saturday.

Noting the NMI’s location on the other side of the international dateline, Woodruff told the Western Regional Caucus that the goal of NMI Democrats this year is to “flip the CNMI from red to blue” and for the “Democratic Wave in 2018 to begin in the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Woodruff also joined the Executive Directors Meeting in which party CEOs and executive directors from the 50 states and some of the territories participated in discussions of organizational tools and resources to enhance party functions and effectiveness.

The CNMI delegation met briefly with DNC vice chair Michael A. Blake, touched base with Democratic Party chair Tom Perez (formerly Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration), and sat down for intensive discussions with national Democratic Party CEO Mary Beth Cahill.

The NMI Democrats’ first meeting last March 8 in the nation’s capitol was with Ken Martin, chairman of the Association of State Delegation Chairs, supported by DNC deputy political director Maureen Garde and staffer Aimee Van Cleave.

The NMI Democrats team also had an extended meeting with Perez’s chief of staff, Sam Cornale, and key support staffers in the western region, Aimee Van Cleave and Kristen Avery. These meetings were very productive, and the national party is committed to helping local Democrats attain victory in the upcoming November 2018 general election.

In their meeting with Sablan, Quitugua, White, Iglesias, Woodruff, and Hix discussed the delegate’s U.S. Workforce Act, obtaining a copy of the markup from the Senate Natural Resources Committee, and other issues of importance to NMI Democrats and the people of the CNMI.

NMI Democrats extend an open invitation to CNMI citizens to join them in their mission to transform the way the public’s business is done in the CNMI.

“If you want to make a difference in the future of CNMI,” Quitugua said, “the Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands has a place for you.”

“Our goal is to empower the people,” Quitugua added. “Politics, done right, is about leadership and service, not power or personal prestige. Good government liberates the people from dependence on the individuals holding office for their personal welfare and that of their families.”

Anyone interested in joining this quest as a volunteer, contributor, CEC member, candidate for public office, or simple supporter should contact Quitugua at bdiglesias@hotmail.com or Woodruff at nmidems.ceo@gmail.com. (PR)