THE Rota Democratic Party on Sunday officially endorsed the independent gubernatorial candidacy of Lt. Gov. Arnold Indalecio Palacios and his running mate, Saipan Mayor David Mundo Apatang.
The NMI Democratic Party, however, reiterated that Rep. Tina Sablan is the party’s official candidate for governor.
According to the Arnold-Dave 2022 team, the chair of the Rota Democrats, Norbert Mundo, presided over a “well-attended” meeting at the residence of another Rota Democrat, Martin Atalig, on Sunday to announce their endorsement of the Palacios-Apatang tandem.
During the meeting, the Rota Democrats also discussed “relevant party matters in the run-up to the November 2022 CNMI general election.”
The gathering was highlighted by the arrival and attendance of Palacios and Apatang themselves. “They took the opportunity to listen to all the issues, challenges, and concerns, raised during the meeting. Then, they each took turns in addressing the attendees,” the AD 2022 team stated.
It added that Palacios and Apatang “spoke at length of the people’s current plight, the need to rebuild trust in our government and leadership as they also shared their focus and commitment to improving the lives of all our people in the CNMI.”
“They closed their address by asking for the support of the people of Rota and thanking them for graciously welcoming the AD 2022 team on the beautiful island of Luta,” the AD 2022 team added.
Palacios and Apatang were “elated and humbled to receive the Rota Democratic Party’s official endorsement, and extended their gratitude and appreciation to the party and the people of Rota.”
Also attending the meeting were Pedro Dela Cruz, Geraldine Dela Cruz, Aniceto Mundo, Joseph Apatang, Maria Apatang, Janet Mundo, William Taitano, Eleanor Taitano, Martin Atalig, Cindy Barcinas, Robert Ulloa, among other Rota residents.
Family ties
For its part, the Democratic Party of the NMI said it is “the political organization that officially nominates and certifies candidates for CNMI elections under the Democratic banner. The Democratic Party of the NMI, as a political organization, has officially endorsed Rep. Christina ‘Tina’ Sablan as the party’s gubernatorial candidate for 2022.”
The Democratic Party of the NMI said it “did not approve nor release any photos, press releases, banners, or other materials depicting individual Democrats, former Democrats, or Independents on Rota endorsing any other gubernatorial candidate.”
“We recognize that family ties play a crucial role in CNMI elections, and familial pressures can influence even close allies to switch political allegiances. While we respect the political choices of all individuals, we also urge all political camps to ensure the transparency and accuracy of campaign information they disseminate,” the party added.
“The Democratic Party of the NMI remains committed to [the] transparency and accuracy [of] all information we share that is critically important to the general well-being of the people of the Commonwealth, and we will continue to carry out our campaign activities in accordance with this pledge. Trust can only be earned in this way.
“As we look forward to the announcement of Tina’s running mate later this month, we remind the people of the Commonwealth that, in the voting booth, ‘nobody knows where your pencil goes.’ With Tina and her running mate, and all our Democratic candidates, good governance will be on the ballot this coming November.”
The Republican candidate is the incumbent governor, Ralph DLG Torres, whose running mate is Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan.
According to the CNMI Constitution, “if no candidates receive more than one half of the total votes cast and counted for the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor, on the fourteenth day thereafter, a runoff election shall be held between the candidates for governor and the lieutenant governor receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast and counted for those offices.”
There had been two previous gubernatorial runoffs in CNMI history: in 2009 and 2014. Both were won by the incumbent governor.
Independent gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, fifth right, and his running mate, Saipan Mayor David M.Apatang fifth left, pose with Rota Democrats during a meeting on Sunday.
