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Senate OKs CUC board appointment for Tinian
The Senate unanimously confirmed a Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board appointee representing Tinian during their Thursday afternoon session.
The Senate voted last week to support the re-appointment of Jovita San Nicolas Paulino representing Tinian on the CUC board. Sens. Paul Manglona (R-Rota) and Steve Mesngon (R-Rota) were absent from the session.
Paulino said she would do her “very best to uphold transparency and to work closely with the other board members. I would make sure to empower CUC executive director Gary Camacho so that we can have CUC moving forward.”
Paulino was filling in for former CUC board member Eric San Nicolas, who resigned last year without completing his term. She was with the board for the remainder of his term, which was about eight months. Thursday’s confirmation was her first appointment to the CUC board on a full term.
“We have so many projects in line for Tinian, Saipan, and Rota. I don’t just focus on Tinian but I focus on the CNMI as a whole,” she said.
Prior to voting, Sen. Jude Hofschneider (R-Tinian) expressed his support for Paulino. “She had overwhelming support from the community as well as the agency,” Hofschneider told the Senate. “I thank her for her patience to continue on serving.”
Hofscheneider described Paulino as “transparent, informative, and very communicative” when it came to the CUC board’s relationship with the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation, which he chairs.
Sen. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan), who chairs the Senate Public Utilities and Transportation Committee, noted that he s “very impressed” with her performance on the CUC board.
“…I really like what she is doing—how she is collaborating with the community of Tinian, what every need of Tinian [is], and communicating with the executive director of CUC and the CUC board making sure that everything is taken care of,” he said.
The Senate confirmed Paulino’s appointment, 7-0.
