Gov. Arnold I. Palacios shakes hands with outgoing NMI Republican Party President Ramon A. Tebuteb after casting his vote for the new party president at the Garapan Central Park on Thursday.
Local businessman Juan “Santiago” Tenorio casts his ballot as former Sen. Vinnie Sablan waits his turn with a smile
Joseph “Leepan” Guerrero
LED by former Rep. Joseph “Leepan” Guerrero, NMI Republicans allied with former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres swept the party’s election of new officers on Thursday evening.
At the same event, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios — whose candidate for party president was handily beaten by Leepan — told reporters that he will seek re-election next year as a Republican.
In the election for GOP president, Leepan garnered 403 votes, while Palacios’ senior policy advisor, Kimo Rosario, received 199.
Patrick Cepeda defeated the governor’s pick, Pete Itibus, 365 to 189, in the second vice presidential race, while GOP Committeewoman Irene Holl, also aligned with Torres, won the party secretary seat with 335 votes against Mildred Camacho’s 234.
Another Torres supporter, former Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao, won the election for treasurer with 364 votes, defeating former Board of Education member Danny O. Quitugua, who received 201 votes.
The only candidate backed by the governor who won was Department of Public Lands Planning Director Pat Rasa, who ran unopposed for first vice president.
A Republican who successfully ran for governor as an independent candidate in 2022, Palacios has returned to his old party and was accompanied by many of his supporters as they cast their votes for GOP party officers at Garapan Central Park.
The voting started at 6 p.m. and the meeting adjourned at around 9 p.m.
New direction
The party’s new president, Leepan said their goal is to push the GOP in the right direction.
He said the “first thing to do is to revisit the party by-laws and make sure everyone complies as the party starts to really reach out to the community and get their input on how to better the CNMI because right now, the community is really hurting. It’s time that we really…address the concerns of the community.”
For his part, Governor Palacios said the big turnout “is a good [indication] of, hopefully, reuniting the party.”
Looking at the big crowd around him, he said, “it looks like members of the party, past and present, want to participate in choosing who should be running the party so it’s a good turnout, very positive.”
He said it was good to be with his party mates, who are also his friends. “I really never had any negative feelings against anybody, past and present, Republicans. So to me, it’s cordial,” he said.
Palacios was Torres’ running mate in the 2018 election, which they won in a landslide.
Palacios said “there’s really never a deep divide or bad feelings among ourselves, the members in the past and the members in the present. We are all human beings and we make choices but I think today is a reflection of the wish of the members of the party to put it all together.”
Asked if he plans to seek reelection as a Republican, the governor said, “Yeah — if I’m going to do it, it will be as a member of the Republican Party. Do you think I’d come here tonight if not?” he added.
Local businessman Juan “Santiago” Tenorio, a Torres supporter, said the party’s general membership meeting went smoothly, “and it looks like 75% of government employees are here.”
He expressed hope that the outcome of the party election — whatever it may be — would be honored.
Former Gov. John Nekai Babauta, who was with the group identified with Palacios, said it was “quite obvious” that a lot of people showed up, which was an indication of the people’s continued interest to keep the party together and win future elections.
Like Tenorio, he hoped that everyone would honor the result of the election. “That should be the hope of everyone. We have to accept the outcome. This is a democratic process,” Babauta said.
Primary
As the new party president, Leepan said he prefers to hold a primary if there is more than one Republican gubernatorial aspirant next year.
In 2022, Palacios left the party after it declined to hold a gubernatorial primary.
Leepan said as the party by-laws stipulate, everyone is welcome to submit their intent to run on the GOP slate.
But he said the party will also ensure that the unsuccessful primary candidates support the winner.
“We are not going to allow anyone to come in and… run under the GOP and, after losing the primary, run independently. We want assurance that we keep the party intact. We cannot have candidates run outside the party just because they are not content with the end result,” Leepan said.
He added that it is also their goal to have a full slate in next year’s general election.
He said they will “welcome anyone…willing to join the GOP.”
However, he added, “if they want to join the party, we are going to make sure that these individuals running for office are true Republicans and they stand firm as Republicans.”
“We welcome them,” he said. “If they are true Republicans, stay Republican. The end result of tonight is about the party, the people’s party that is the Republican Party and we are going to stand firm and we are going to move forward and find the right candidates to run under the GOP,” he added.
Outgoing Party President Ramon A. Tebuteb sincerely thanked all those who came to cast their votes. He asked for their continued indulgence and support “as we move on to the next order of business, which is to facilitate what our people need.” He also expressed gratitude to the volunteers who helped supervise the party election.
The GOP is the CNMI’s most dominant party, having won seven of the Commonwealth’s 12 gubernatorial elections. Three other elections were won by former Republicans who later rejoined the party. The NMI Democrats, for their part, have won only two gubernatorial elections — in 1977 and 1993.
