From left Val Taisakan, mayor of the Northern Islands; R.B. Camacho, mayor of Saipan; Aubry Hocog, mayor of Rota; and Edwin Aldan, mayor of Tinian, pose after the first meeting of the Association of Northern Mariana Islands Mayors.
TINIAN Mayor Edwin Aldan was elected president of the Association of Northern Mariana Islands Mayors or ANMIM on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in the conference room of the Office of the Mayor of Saipan.
In its first meeting, ANMIM also adopted its bylaws and elected its other officers: Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog, vice president; Northern Islands Mayor Valentino Taisakan, secretary; and Saipan Mayor R.B. Camacho, treasurer.
According to its bylaws, ANMIM was created “with the aim of fostering collaboration, unity, and effective governance.”
“Through this association, we seek to exchange knowledge, resources, and best practices, and to serve as a unified voice in addressing issues affecting the CNMI and advancing the interests of our municipalities,” the bylaws stated.
Aldan said he supported the creation of ANMIM because of its potential to garner support for issues that reach across the municipalities.
He said CNMI mayors write letters of support for each other, but an association of mayors can create unified and strong statements.
“Building and creating this association makes it more official and [provides a] unified platform to go to either the Legislature or to any other agencies. This would be the platform to address some of our municipal issues.”
Camacho agreed, saying, “It is so important to create this association among the mayors…. [Now, if we] have concerns [we can send a] unified letter addressed to the governor or the agency affecting the municipality.”
In addition, Hocog said ANMIM can apply for grants “that would really help provide the financial support that we all would need for our respective municipalities.”
ANMIM is still in need of a logo and plans to organize a community contest to design one in the near future.
