Tudela sworn in as Saipan councilor

Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council member is sworn in by Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang as council chair L.J. Castro, right, and vice chair Diego Kaipat look on during the short ceremony at the Mayor’s Office yesterday. (Mark Rabago)

The 14th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council is now finally complete after a third member, Antonia Tudela was sworn in yesterday at the Saipan Mayor’s Office in Oleai.

Tudela, who chaired the previous council, now joins chair L.J. Castro and Diego Kaipat in the municipal council. Castro and Kaipat won their seats during last November’s general election. No candidate ran for the third council post.

Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, with the concurrence of Northern Islands Mayor Jerome Aldan, nominated Tudela as councilor.

The SNILD tackled Tudela’s nomination yesterday morning and she was unanimously voted in to fill the vacant council seat.

Tudela then joined Castro, Kaipat, friends, and family members at the mayor’s office where Apatang swore her in to her seventh two-year term at the council.

“I’m very happy now to continue serving the community. I’m so humbled by the confidence given to me by Mayor Apatang and Mayor Aldan and all the delegation members. I will try my best to again serve the community,” she told media shortly after being sworn in.

Tudela said she wants to continue the rebuilding of the municipal council building at the back of the post office, further strengthen the neighborhood watch program, assist the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, and again help in staging the annual memorial ceremony for civilian casualties of World War II at the American Memorial Park.

Apatang congratulated Tudela for her appointment and said he can’t wait to work with the council now that it’s complete.

“I’m looking forward to working with the council and hopefully we can come up with better ideas to improve Saipan and they will also be working with Northern Islands Mayor Aldan as far as Northern Islands issues are concerned. I think this group is going to be very active,” he said.

Castro said he’s grateful for Apatang’s confidence in the former council chair.

“I’m looking forward to working with her. When you think about all three of us, even though I’m the chair, I’m the youngest. So vice chairman [Kaipat] and councilor Tudela bring a lot of experience to the table and that’s something that can help me in my capacity as I have two guiding hands,” he said.

Kaipat said he’s happy that Tudela, a former colleague in the 13th council, is back where she belongs.

“I also look forward working here again and follow up on the agenda the previous council started, like the conference on Pagan,” he said.