“I would love to run — provided I know what my condition is,” he said in an interview on Friday. “Unfortunately I’ve an illness. It was a setback for me and I was gone for several months hoping that it would get resolved but I won’t find out until the first week of August.”
Salas, R-Saipan, said it would be “unfair” to the people of the CNMI “if I file my candidacy only to find out later that I still need further treatment. What if I get re-elected? I wouldn’t want to be away for weeks or months. Again, it wouldn’t be fair to the people that elected me.”
The 55-year-old lawmaker has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“I’m waiting and praying that the results [of my recent treatment in Manila] would be good,” he said. “I’m confident that it would be, but at the same time, the fact is that I don’t know, so my wife and I sat down and we talked about it and made the decision that this might not be the best year for me [to run for re-election].”
Salas first ran in the 2005 elections as one of the Republican House candidates in Precinct 1, which has six seats.
He finished seventh in a field of 17 candidates, 51 votes behind Cinta M. Kaipat.
In 2007, running in Kagman, which became Saipan’s Precinct 5 with two House seats, Salas initially finished third in a field of nine candidates behind fellow Republican Rosemond B. Santos and independent Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero.
Salas had 443 votes while Deleon Guerrero got 456, but the Republican received 44 absentee ballots compared to his opponent’s 28.
The final tally: Salas, 487; Deleon Guerrero, 484.
The system
As a freshman lawmaker, Salas said it took him a while to understand the “system” — how things work on Capital Hill.
“It took almost a good eight to 10 months to realize that, and then I got sick, which was a further setback, but I now plan to be very active in the next five months,” he said.
He has introduced only one bill, which is still with the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications.
He also co-authored a labor bill, but it was filed by the Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations.
The measure that is still with the PUTC committee will ban the use of cellphones while driving.
“I think it’s a good bill,” he said. “I’m concerned about the safety of the people who are driving and the other motorists on the road. We all know that if your concentration is not on your driving it is easy for you to get into an accident.”
Salas said he will ask the chairman of the committee, Rep. Victor B. Hocog, Ind.-Rota, “if it’s OK to ask the floor leader to recall [the bill] and put it on the floor. If my colleagues don’t like it because it’s controversial then that’s fine, but at least we should take action on it.”
Salas, whose term ends in Jan. 2010, said he is also doing research on two other bills he plans to introduce.
One measure will strengthen the requirement that all commercial establishments and vendors should provide receipts to their customers.
“We want to ensure accurate reporting to the Department of Finance so the government can collect the right amount of revenue,” Salas said. “There’s an enforcement issue here — a lack of personnel, but maybe we can outsource this to a company, or mandate that a sign is posted stating that patrons should ask for their receipts, so in that way the members of the community can enforce it.”
The other bill he wants to introduce will increase the penalty for establishments or persons that allow minors to consume alcohol.
Community service
“I wish I didn’t get sick,” Salas said, “but I feel I still contributed in terms of assisting the community and voting for bills that would benefit the CNMI. I really didn’t stay only in my precinct. When people from other precincts needed help I assisted them.”
Salas has donated, and continues to donate, money to charitable organizations, schools, community and sports events, basketball and baseball teams.
His total donations already amount to over $76,000.
“They really needed help,” he said. “For example, I sponsored five baseball teams from Kagman — their entrance fee and uniforms, and that was a chunk of money.”
He also donated $2,000 to the Make A Wish Foundation and contributed $3,000 to finance the participation of 14 Saipan students at the Eco Camp on Tinian.
The list of his beneficiaries is long.
“I was able to do that because I only have one staffer,” he said. “We’re allowed five but I chose to have only one so I can have more flexibility in using my discretionary funds for distribution to community organizations.”
When told that some critics of the CNMI government’s spending habits believe that lawmakers should concentrate on legislative matters, Salas said:
“I understand that concern, but there is also a need to help these groups. Lawmakers are given a certain amount of money, our discretionary funds, and I choose to assist the community.”
He said coaches and players of youth baseball teams should concentrate on their game and not on fundraisers.
“I really believe that we have to have sports for the kids to help them stay out of trouble, especially during the summer. We want them to be active and be physically fit. I really support sports and it’s gratifying for me to see kids having a good time on the baseball field or the basketball court and they’re all there with their families.”
Cost-cutting
But Salas also thinks that the discretionary funds each lawmaker receives are “too much.”
The funds — which are for office operations, supplies, personnel and miscellaneous expenses — amount to $155,000 a year for each member, but this has been reduced to $125,000 and now to $99,000.
Salas said it can further be cut to $50,000.
“That’s $3 million a year in total savings that can go to essential services,” he added.
This will also mean a reduction in the Legislature’s personnel.
“I think a lawmaker can survive with one or two staffers,” Salas said. “I mean, is it really necessary to hire five people? Some consider these hirings as payback to one’s supporters, and that comes with the territory, that’s politics. That money can go back to the general fund, but it was allotted to my office so I also feel I should have a say on how it should be spent. If I return it to the general fund, where does it go? Most likely to fund the personnel of other agencies.”
Frustrations
The “politics that goes with politics” is how Salas describes his frustration with the “system” on Capital Hill.
As an example, he talked about the way the Legislature sometimes conducts business.
“There are instances when bills are introduced on the floor and rules are suspended so we can vote [on these measures],” he said. “But these bills sometime require research. For example, a bill will say that it will ‘amend or repeal 1CMC Section 2510.’ I don’t even know what that is. I really don’t want to vote on bills or resolutions that we see 30 seconds before we have to act on them. That’s a disservice to the commonwealth if we don’t take the time to do research and know more about these bills and their effect on the CNMI.”
But overall, he said, “I’ve developed a good rapport with my colleagues as we get to know each other better. It’s quid pro quo. They ask for my help and I ask for their help. All I ask is that I be allowed to vote my conscience. I won’t vote for a bill just to do someone a favor.”
