By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

THE Democratic Party, which only holds two of the 18 seats in the House of Representatives, is banking on the younger generation to reverse the party’s sagging political fortunes.
Manuel C. Sablan, acting party chairman, said this midterm election is an opportunity for the Democrats to once again be a major political force on Capital Hill.
The party has never held a majority of seats in the Senate and the last time the CNMI had a Democratic speaker of the House was in 1991. The last time the party won a gubernatorial election was in 1993.
Sablan said they will conduct more village projects in order to reach more voters at the grassroots level.
The two Democrats in the House of Representatives are Vice Speaker Justo S. Quitugua and Floor Leader Florencio M. Deleon Guerrero who have aligned themselves with the ruling Covenant Party.
In November all 18 House seats and three Senate seats are up for grabs.
Saipan’s open Senate seat is held by a Democrat, Luis P. Crisostimo, but he has not been endorsed by the party.
Sablan said most lawmakers have failed to exercise their duty to protect the public’s interest.
“The Legislature has been on the rocks for the past 15 years or so. Nothing good has come in the past 15 years from the Legislature. They are all just going through the motions. We need a crisis in order for them to act. It’s a reactionary type of Legislature,” said Sablan.
“We have to start getting our younger people into the political process,” he added, saying they will announce the names of their candidates in the months ahead.
“Everything is going down the tubes,” Sablan said. “Our quality of life is deteriorating. We’re having problems with young people getting employed. Unemployment is bad in any society because it increases criminal activity….It’s as bad as it can get right now. Having people unemployed exacerbates the situation.”
He said while it is true that the administration should not be entirely blamed for the islands’ worsening economic situation, it could do a lot moreto change the CNMI’s current course.