By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

WASHINGTON Representative Pete A. Tenorio yesterday dismissed speculation that he is preparing for the 2009 gubernatorial election.
“That’s the farthest thing from my mind now. We are faced with so many problems,” said Tenorio in an interview. “But there are always going to be rumors.”
With so many problems and challenges confronting the Northern Marianas, Tenorio said politicians should set aside their political agendas.
“None of us are thinking about that. We’re thinking about what we can collectively do to address some of these problems,” he said.
In his testimony to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, which held an oversight hearing about the CNMI’s situation recently, Tenorio said the islands’ economy is “swiftly becoming a basket case and a failure.” He added, “It is indeed a shame when any place in America can be described in this way.”
Tenorio first entered politics in 1972 when he represented the Northern Marianas in the Congress of Micronesia of the then-Trust Territory government.
In 1973, he became a member of the Marianas Political Status Commission which negotiated the islands’ Covenant agreement with the U.S.
Tenorio sought the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination in 1981, but lost in the primary to his cousin, then-Senate President Pedro P. Tenorio who chose him as his running mate.
Their ticket won and they were re-elected in 1985.
In 1989, then-Lt. Gov. Pete A. Tenorio sought the GOP gubernatorial nomination, but lost to former Sen. Lorenzo I. Deleon Guerrero in the primary.
Tenorio, who has a degree in geology, hydrology and a master’s of science in public health from the University of Hawaii, returned to politics in 2001 as the GOP candidate for Washington representative. He won and went on to secure a second term four years later.