AS the CNMI gears up for the 2022 gubernatorial election, there may yet be another contender for the islands’ top post.
In response to a question Sunday on social media, U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan said that he may run for governor.
He said Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang “gave me their word that we will meet again when I return home. And Arnold then called me to let me know they changed their mind. If they cannot keep their own word, what makes them any better than [Gov. Ralph DLG] Torres?”
In another social media post, Kilili said, “Arnold…called me to tell me they are…announcing they are running, then how [can] I believe a word they say? I cannot support those who cannot, or won’t, keep their word. A person is only as good as their word.”
An independent who caucuses with U.S. Democrats, Kilili said he is “busy working for our people. I do not have time to campaign and all I [asked] was for another three weeks to finish what I was doing, [working] to benefit our people, not something to benefit me like a campaign for office.”
He added, “But it now looks like I cannot even rely on their word. Too bad, since I cannot, and will not, support people who lied to my face.”
Torres announced last month that he will be seeking reelection with Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan as his running mate.
Palacios earlier told reporters that he might run for governor with fellow Republican Mayor Apatang as his running mate. He added that they would make an announcement “sooner than later.”
The CNMI’s first delegate to the U.S. Congress, Kilili is currently serving his seventh term.
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
