David J. Attao, treasurer of GOP of the NMI Association, said they plan to have complete slate on Rota which will elect two senators, one House member and three members for the nonpartisan municipal council this year.
Attao said former Sen. Edward U. Maratita, president of the Rota Republican Party, is encouraging interested candidates to submit their letters of intent to the GOP.
Attao said the party will hold primaries if there are more candidates than the available elective posts.
He said there are at least eight individuals who want to run for senator on Rota.
Senate Vice President Felix T. Mendiola, Covenant-Rota, is not seeking reelection, while Sen. Paterno S. Hocog, R-Rota, has yet to announce whether he will run for another term.
For Rota’s lone House seat, Attao said only Ross Manglona has signified his interest to run.
But Manglona has yet to officially announce his candidacy.
Rota’s incumbent House member is Victor B. Hocog, a Democrat who ran as an Independent in 2007.
The island’s incumbent mayor, Joseph S. Inos, is serving his second term and can no longer seek re-election.
A long-time Republican, Inos was elected mayor as a Democrat in 1993 and lost his re-election bid in 1997.
He was elected mayor again in 2005 on the Covenant Party slate.
The GOP’s general platform of government is to “rebuild a new direction and a new foundation” for the CNMI, Attao said.
The party’s gubernatorial primary will take place on June 27 between the teams of Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider- Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, and former Gov. Juan N. Babauta-Board of Education member Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero.
Attao said both team have agreed to support whoever gets the mandate in the primary.
On Saipan, Attao said the party has “several names popping up and lots of them are young candidates.”
These new names have a “new vision,” he added.
On Saipan, the GOP holds 13 of the 18 House seats and one of the two Senate seats up for grabs this November.
For Precinct 1 which has six House seats, Republicans Rep. Diego T. Benavente and Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero are seeking re-election.
There is no word yet if Republican Rep. Joseph C. Reyes wants another term.
Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres, also of Precinct 1, has already informed the GOP leadership that he wants to run for the Senate.
Senate President Pete P. Reyes R-Saipan, will seek reelection.
For the Saipan mayoral election, Attao said Donald Flores is the “leading candidate” for the GOP.
In Precinct 2 whose two House seats are held by the Covenant Party, the Republicans who have submitted their letters of intent include former Reps. Manny T. Tenorio and Andrew Salas.
Danny Aquino and Eric Atalig are also seeking the GOP nomination.
There is no word yet regarding the Republican House candidates in Precinct 3, the GOP’s stronghold on Saipan.
Hofschneider and Palacios are seeking higher office while Rep. Stanley T. Torres has said that he might run as an Independent.
The other Republican House members of Precinct 3 are Ray N. Yumul and Ramon A. Tebuteb.
In Precinct 5, Republican Rep. Rosemond B. Santos will seek another term while the other GOP incumbent, Edward T. Salas, has yet to make an announcement.
Vincent Attao wants to run in Precinct 5 and has already submitted a letter of intent, David Attao said.
“The GOP is willing to work with other political groups to address the challenges that the CNMI is facing today, and we our proactive in creating legislation and policies that will shield the CNMI in the future,” he added.
On Tinian, Ed Shei is head of the GOP and will be coming out soon with a complete slate for the island.
Rota residents who want to submit their letters of intent should send it to the President of the Rota Republican Party, P.O. Box 1442, Rota MP 96951, no later than May 31, 2009.
