SINCE Wednesday morning I have been designated acting governor and already I have received many calls from people who have been asking me what I think I can accomplish over the next few days.
The first thing that entered my mind is the financial state of our commonwealth. I reflected on the years when our annual appropriations were $270 million and compared it to today where we are doing the best we can on $190 million a year with a growing population placing additional pressure on our infrastructure. The healthy financial climate we enjoyed during those times also brought back memories of the years when we were able to give our students unlimited scholarship funding and were able to provide a hefty budget towards sending our patients to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Naturally, solutions to our problems came much easier during that time because we had the financial resources available to address them.
Today, in such a relatively short time, our islands have changed dramatically and our government and the people it serves have been hit hard by the state of our economy and the cost cutting measures that have become necessary to stay afloat during these challenging times.
A governor takes on a tremendous responsibility to his people the day he accepts his position. A governor is the head of the family tasked with bringing out the best in all of its members. A governor is also blessed with many tools to do his job effectively. However, in order for any family to be successful, all of its members must be willing to pull together and lift one another up when times are tough.
We have a choice here in the CNMI. We can either choose to place our energy on the small games that surround us or we can begin to work with each other and focus on the larger more important picture of lifting and strengthening our entire community. We can focus on the easy personal targets, we can argue over politics, inter-island squabbles, over power or we can focus on the serious issues facing our people. But that is a much harder deal. It is easy to focus on small personal things, you do not need to work too hard to do that, and you can get your name in the media simply by questioning someone. If the allegation isn’t true so what, you look like you’re fighting for the people, but in reality the people will be much better served if energy is targeted towards finding ways to bring our annual appropriations back to levels that will once again benefit our people.
This culture of personal attacks is holding us back and is simply not productive. It has resulted in attention only being paid to sensational allegations rather than elected leaders addressing the real issues. That is what we were elected to do, not argue over small internal affairs. It has also resulted in public servants placing attention on defending themselves rather than the serious work they have to do.
Granted, improprieties and illegal actions of public servants should be addressed and dealt with according to the laws and mechanisms we have set in place. We have to allow the Office of the Public Auditor to do their work and we as elected leaders and lawmakers have to do ours.
So during the short time I am acting governor what do I expect to accomplish?
While our governor and lieutenant governor are away from home lets take this time to regroup and think of the things we can work together on that will truly benefit the people of our commonwealth. Now is the time for us to put aside the minor stuff and to really focus our energies on designing programs and strategies that will work. That is the only way we can truly move forward. We must address our needs, in health care, in education, in economic development, in tourism, in infrastructure.
The Strategic Economic Development Council is composed of a diverse group of public and private representatives that have been quietly but effectively working together to make a difference. This is the kind of path our executive and legislative branches need to begin to take.
Recapturing the spirit of teamwork and cooperation is what I would really like to accomplish during my brief time as acting governor.
Whether it be as acting governor or senator, I pledge to work hand and hand with the members of the House, the members of the Senate and with members of the administration to get the ball rolling in the positive direction it needs to be going. If we have the courage to reverse our present mentality of attacking each other and instead begin to really work together then I believe we can make a significant difference. That is what the people want. That is why we were elected. That is our job.
Today, we have the opportunity to change course and join together to create something positive for our governor and lieutenant governor to be able to work with us on when they return.
By Paul A. Manglona
Acting Governor Northern Mariana Islands
