By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

A 49-year-old resident of Tinian has announced his intention to run for the island’s open Senate seat in this year’s midterm elections.
Ray Sakisat, owner of Tinsairota Enterprises, will run as an Independent candidate against the Covenant Party’s Sen. Henry H. San Nicolas, who is the son of the mayor.
In an interview on Friday, Sakisat said this will be his first time to run for public office.
“What convinced me to run was the economic condition of the CNMI and how the administration is handling it. I strongly feel that an independent member of the Senate will open and maintain positive relationship in key areas,” he told Variety.
He is convinced that “this is not the proper time to argue but to work together for the survival of the economy.”
Sakisat will announce his candidacy to the people of Tinian this summer.
He said he will run against San Nicolas but he has “no bitterness toward him either directly or indirectly — it’s just a matter of giving the people a choice in the selection of their senator.”
If he wins, Sakisat said his main focus will be to give the people of Tinian “equal opportunities in the economic and political aspects.”
“I will make sure that there is an equal distribution of opportunities for the people of Tinian. It (the senate position) is not only intended to reach the selected few but it should reach down to the poverty line,” he said, describing the election “an application for a job for the people.”
“The seat belongs to the public and I am applying for the job to better serve the people,” he said.