Who’s the next Saipan mayor?

With Saipan Mayor Donald Glen P. Flores’ passing yesterday, the clock now ticks for Gov. Eloy S. Inos to fill the vacancy by appointing the presumed successor—the second highest vote-getter in the 2009 mayoralty election that will be willing to serve out the remainder of Flores’ term. Flores, 62, is the first elected official to pass while in office in the CNMI’s recent history.

In the 2009 mayoralty race, the second highest vote-getter was Marian DLG Tudela with 1,620 votes. Flores got 2,392 votes that year.

Press secretary Angel Demapan, when sought for comment, said the governor “will attempt to contact Ms. Tudela as soon as possible to discuss the vacancy and whether she, the presumed successor, will be willing to serve out the remainder of the term of the late Mayor Flores.”

Flores’ term ends in January 2015.

Demapan and Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Robert A. Guerrero cited the Commonwealth Code, particularly CMC Section 5103(a), which provides that “[i]f a vacancy should arise in any office of the mayor, and less than half of the term of the mayor remains, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointing the unsuccessful candidate for that mayor’s office from the previous election, who received the largest number of votes and is now still willing to serve as mayor of that island or islands.”

Pursuant to 1 CMC Section 6502(e), [“i]f there is a vacancy in the office of mayor and less than one-half of the term remains from the date of the vacancy…the presiding officer of the Municipal Council shall be acting mayor.”

Should Tudela decline the appointment to serve out the remainder of Flores’ term, the governor has to go to the next highest vote-getter and so on, Election Commission’s Guerrero said.

The third highest vote-getter in the 2009 mayoralty race was Democratic candidate Angelo O’Connor Villagomez, who got 1,612 votes, only eight votes behind Tudela.

The fourth one was then independent candidate Roman C. Benavente, now a member of the House of Representatives. He had 1,586 votes.

The rest of the nine mayoralty candidates in the 2009 elections were Lino Tenorio, 1,527; Antonio Camacho, 571; Jose Sanchez, 530; Candido Taman, 420; and Juan S. Demapan, 287.

Ramon B. Camacho, as current chairman of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, started serving as acting mayor the first work day after Flores was hospitalized on Saturday.

Flores passed away at the Commonwealth Health Center shortly before 3pm yesterday. He suffered a massive stroke on Saturday and since then was in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit where he remained on life support until his death.