WHO will be the acting mayor if the mayors of Saipan and Northern Islands are abroad?
Under Saipan Local Law 12-6, the two mayors are given the authority to designate the acting mayors.
However, Rep. Pedro P. Castro, R-Saipan, has pre-filed H.L.B. 13-19 which seeks to repeal the local law and designate the presiding officer of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council as acting mayor.
Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela opposes the measure while Council Chairman Gregorio V. Deleon Guerrero supports it.
“I am firmly convinced that it is wise to trust the judgment of the mayor to have the common sense and discretion to appoint an individual whom he knows will maintain a steady course during his absence,” Tudela said in a letter to Sen. Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan and chairman of the island’s legislative delegation.
Deleon Guerrero, in his letter, told Reyes that “Saipan Local Law 12-6 which placed within the mayor’s discretion who shall be designated to act in his absence is too broad and could be abused.”
He said the Municipal Council feels that the “system (would) work” if “the designation of acting mayor shall be limited to a person publicly elected within the framework of our local government.”
But Tudela argued that making the Council’s presiding officer the acting mayor “would be highly questionable” especially when he “is not familiar with the day-to-day operations” of his office.
“In fact, the majority of the members of the…Municipal Council…have never visited my office and could not be aware of the ongoing daily operations and activities,” Tudela said.
He added that he was “gratified” when the local law became effective in Dec. 2000 as it protected the mayor’s authority and guaranteed the continuity of his office’s daily operations.
“To me, it does not make any sense for the Legislature to change its mind again regarding this important matter,” he said.
But according to Deleon Guerrero, Castro’s bill would “enhance an effective and strong local government of the people by the people and for the people.”
For consistency, Deleon Guerrero recommended that the language of Article 6, section 7 (4) of the Constitution “be considered and extended to include physical absence of the mayor of Saipan and Northern Islands as contained in section 3 of H.L.B. 13-19.”
