WITH U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan joining them, the NMI Democrats on Wednesday launched their 2022 gubernatorial campaign at Garapan Fishing Base.
The NMI Democrats, who last won a gubernatorial election in 1993, conducted a roadside-waving activity along Beach Road before officially declaring the candidacies of gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Tina Sablan and her running mate, Rep. Leila Fleming Staffler.
Also joining them were incumbent Democratic lawmakers, party officials led by their president Nola Hix and vice president Daniel O. Quitugua, and the CNMI’s first governor and longtime Democrat, Dr. Carlos S. Camacho.
Rep. Sheila Babauta delivered the introductory remarks for Staffler, while Rep. Edwin Propst introduced Tina Sablan.
Leadership qualities
Kilili said Tina Sablan and Leila Staffler are trustworthy, courageous, wise and decisive — they have the qualities of good leaders, he added.
Kilili also mentioned the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee’s investigation of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ public expenditures, which, the congressman said, “bothered me.”
“I am sure it bothered you as well, what has been happening to our government, our Commonwealth, our home. But if we just sit down and do nothing, that is essentially saying ‘this is fine; let’s allow others to do this.’ If this were in the U.S. Congress, you will be out of office,” he said.
“We’ve got to stop this, and the way to stop this in all peacefulness, is to drive, go out there, talk to your friends, and explain to them the qualities that Tina and Leila offer,” he added.
Kilili noted that it is also the first time he is running as an NMI Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress. “I’m very, very happy and honored to be up here asking my friends, family and supporters to vote for Tina and Leila because I know I won’t go wrong,” he said, and turning to Sablan and Staffler, he added, “I know you guys won’t let me down.”
He said he has been talking to people for the past several months, and he believes “we have a chance — there is a chance.”
“For those of you who have given me their love and support, please, extend it to Tina and Leila and to all of my colleagues up here,” he said referring to the other Democratic candidates.
A former CNMI House Democrat, Kilili ran as an independent in the islands’ first U.S. congressional delegate election in 2008. Re-elected as an independent in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020, he caucuses with the U.S. Democrats in the nation’s capital.
Good governance, empowered citizens
Tina Sablan said, she and Staffler are committed to lead a government that prioritizes the education and health of the people, and the delivery of essential infrastructure.
“We offer a bright and hopeful vision for the future and plans for how we get there. We offer you leadership that you already know you can trust,” she said.
She said she and Staffler “fully appreciate how necessary it is to establish a culture of fairness in the government, its contracts, employment, and implementation of law, and how important it is to employ qualified, ethical people to lead government departments and agencies.”
“There will be no sweetheart deals,” she added, “no political interference in law enforcement, no special favors to special interest in the Sablan-Staffler administration.”
She said political intimidation will not be tolerated, whistleblowers will be protected and government employees will be trained to know their ethical responsibilities and workplace rights.
“If you are a hardworking, dedicated public servant, you will not have to worry about losing your job based on who you or your family supported politically,” she said.
“And we need your help. Good governance also needs empowered citizens working together to create a better community. This movement needs all of us. Join the campaign. Talk to your friends and family. Send us your comments, your great ideas for the kind of Marianas you want to create and how you want to help, and of course please vote,” Tina Sablan said.
We ignited hope
“We are not alone,” Staffler said.
“We knew that the road of change is a long road, and although it is a long journey, it is worth every step of the way,” she added.
What inspired her to keep pushing for this journey for change, Staffler said, “is seeing how far we have come.”
She noted that in one year, “look at what the Democratic Party has brought to the table and what it has to offer you.”
Staffler said that since the announcement of their candidacies, “we have had so many people of all ages, of genders and background who have told us that they plan to register to vote this year.”
She said some people have stopped voting years ago and others have never even voted. But this year, she added, they want to vote because “we have ignited hope for the future.”
The other gubernatorial tickets are the Republican tandem of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and running mate Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan, and the independent ticket of Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and his running mate, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang.
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.”
U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, center, raises the hands of the NMI Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Tina Sablan, left, and her running mate, Rep. Leila Fleming Staffler, during a kick-off rally at Garapan Fishing Base on Wednesday.
