They apparently thought I had enriched their lives. I hope so. I worked as an education professional in the NMI from 1963 until my retirement in 2002.
I constantly monitor local activities via our two newspapers and am disheartened by the constant bickering. It serves no useful purpose. What we need are constructive solutions to the problems we face. I don’t know the solutions, but I firmly believe that they can be identified and implemented by the intelligentsia currently available on our islands. There are many very smart, caring individuals who love the CNMI as much as I do.
So I think. What can I do? Run for governor on an independent ticket. Pull the intelligentsia together.
I have never favored the establishment of political parties in my homeland. They tend to polarize groups of people for no good reason. We don’t need polarization at this time in our history. We need collaboration and cooperation. We need leadership that can pull the most thoughtful people and organizations together to identify our problems and contemplate various solutions to our economic woes. We need leadership that will then implement and evaluate those solutions. For example, the CNMI is constantly subjugated by the price of oil to produce our electricity. We must free ourselves from this slavery. To do so, purchase and install 4 or 5 nuclear powered generators. I think DOI would react favorable to such a request. The nuclear batteries last for 20 years and can be replaced like a new automobile battery. No more exorbitant power bills. Investors want stability. Thus far, the CNMI has exhibited little of that. All businesses need a dependable, affordable supply of electricity. We know how to get it, but we continue to bicker.
We don’t need a political system in which one is elected because they have the most relatives or belong to a certain political party. We need to elect leaders who have as their main agenda the solving of problems that face the CNMI. We don’t have time to continue all this bickering. Most of our politicians and government workers are good people. They’re just like you and me, but we, the people, don’t keep them on task. What are the important tasks? Improve the economy so that all can have a decent quality of life. Stop the exodus of our most talented youngsters from the CNMI.
In the past, elections have been won based on promises of employment. As your governor, I would promise no employment to anyone. I have no relatives in the CNMI. I belong to no political party. I see little need for full-time, government paid advisors. My department heads will do their jobs or get fired. If you know your community as I do, good advice is easy to come by and in most cases it’s more relevant and given freely.
Obviously, this tact would put a lot of people out of jobs and is hardly a vote-getting idea. However, it is essential to moving towards a self-reliant CNMI. The cost of government in the CNMI is ridiculously high. Trust Territory days are over. The government doesn’t owe you a living or a scholarship. We, the taxpayers now pay for this bloated bureaucracy that we call “our government.” That’s wasted money out of our pockets. People need to understand that self-reliance means getting the qualifications to have a meaningful, productive occupation. IT DOES NOT MEAN WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT!
I realize that a government job might be something you need to earn money while you gain an education to be self-reliant, but the days of lifetime government employment, except for a very few, necessary, permanent positions, must come to an end or the CNMI is doomed.
So, now you have an inkling of the platform upon which I intend to run for governor. I am not foolish enough to think that such a platform will bring me victory, but I hope it clarifies some of the activities that are essential to the survival of our CNMI. We must have a stable, affordable supply of electricity and we must elect leaders who know how to solve problems and are transparent with these solutions, Hidden agendas are forbidden.
Complaining and in-fighting accomplish nothing and make us look like emotional children.
I wonder what living in the governor’s mansion would be like? Would you like to see me there? Your responses are welcome. E-mail me at [email protected]. I will classify your responses in two categories: bickering or constructive. I have no time for bickering. I’m 72 years old; of sound mind and body; and wise enough to be a responsive, transparent, governor with just one goal: To make the CNMI the paradise on earth it can and should be. ELECT ME!!!
ROGER N. LUDWICK
Sadog Tasi, Saipan
