The governor named Knight chairwoman of the CNMI’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Commission last year.
Knight “has volunteered to take on this responsibility with no compensation from the CNMI government,” Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said in an e-mail yesterday. “Governor Fitial appointed her to this position and she works closely with Michael Ada, our secretary of Commerce, and our local business community on economic development issues.”
In a separate e-mail interview, Knight said: “I am honored to be appointed to this challenging assignment and will do my best to contribute value. I’d also like to acknowledge that my work is being funded by a private consortium of about a dozen businesses that are HANMI members and others in the tourism industry. I am going on a complete leave from my job to do this work representing the governor in Washington, D.C. This will be a liaison assignment on federalization and I’ll also be promoting our economic development plan — which will be published in February — and projects that can help the CNMI economy. It’s the governor’s wish and my assignment to strive to present our united position to federal officials and the public with Congressman Sablan’s office, the CNMI Legislature’s Federalization Task Force and other private sector task forces. I’ve also been reaching out to various activist organizations locally to see what issues I can try to help with. I will bring their concerns to federal officials along with statistics, real life examples, and hopefully make some constructive suggestions for ways to mitigate the potential fallout/damage of federalization on our community.”
In his Jan. 13, 2009 letter to Knight, Fitial said she will coordinate communications between his administration and various federal agencies.
“As we go about this project, we should strive to present a united position to federal officials and the public,” Fitial told Knight. “My administration — and you as my representative — will work in cooperation with my special legal counsel Howard Willens.”
“Knight is not an employee or consultant of the CNMI government, but she volunteers to work closely with the government to advance the economic interests of our local community,” Reyes said. “Whether it be the chamber of commerce, HANMI, or any other credible local business organization, the governor welcomes private sector advocates for the CNMI economy in Washington, D.C. The CNMI government and the CNMI private sector have a common interest in protecting the viability of our economy in view of federal policy changes in our region.”
A Tan Holdings executive, Knight is the publisher of the Saipan Tribune.
Fitial is a former Tan Holdings executive.
