“THE people of the CNMI deserve nothing less than open and honest government with the highest standard.”
And this is the reason Corina L. Magofna said she is running for the vacant Precinct 3 House seat in the special election set for Oct. 16.
The seat became vacant after Republican Rep. Ivan A. Blanco passed away on July 23, 2021 at the age of 44.
A Democrat, Magofna finished seventh in the 2020 House elections, just 41 votes behind Republican Ralph N. Yumul. Precinct 3 has six House seats.
If Magofna wins in October, the current House leadership consisting of Democrats and Independents will have 11 of the 20 House seats.
The NMI Republican Party has yet to announce its candidate for the special election.
On Wednesday night, Magofna hosted a virtual town hall meeting.
Joining her were the Democratic members of the Legislature and two of their three independent allies: House Saipan Democrats Edwin Propst, Tina Sablan, Celina Babauta, Sheila Babauta, Leila Staffler, Denita Yangetmai and Vicente Camacho; Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez of Saipan and Rep. Donald Manglona of Rota, both independents; and Democratic Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero of Saipan.
In the meeting, they discussed, among other things, the pressing issues that each House committee is addressing.
Toward the end of the meeting, Representative Staffler asked Magofna why she decided to run again.
Magofna said: “I am running because I truly and sincerely believe that our people deserve nothing less than an open and honest government with the highest standard.”
She added, “So that is why I am doing my best and I want to be part of this team that shares the same core values as I do and I hope that the people will consider voting for me in this upcoming special election and give me the opportunity to work with all these people here.”
For their part, Speaker Villagomez and Representative Manglona shared updates on the fiscal year 2022 budget proceedings.
Magofna commended the House Democrats for pushing for budget bill provisions that “speak of the Democratic platform which calls for transparency and accountability.”
Rep. Celina Babauta, who chairs the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee, talked about its ongoing investigation into Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’s public expenditures.
Representative Propst, who chairs the House Gaming Committee, said they are in the process of gathering documents and testimonies regarding the island’s casino industry. He said there are some hurdles in obtaining needed documents.
Rep. Sheila Babauta emphasized the importance of accountability in government because “an irresponsible and reckless leadership is costly.”
Senator Deleon Guerrero, who chairs the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation’s Judiciary and Governmental Operations, talked about how the Republican administration is handling the Rental Assistance and Utility Relief Program and the Lost Wages Assistance Program for which the CNMI government received millions of dollars from the federal government.
Representative Yangetmai said her office has been bombarded with calls from people who have problems with roads that need to be fixed, and from those who are complaining about the inadequate water supply in their villages.
Representative Camacho shared his ongoing efforts in expanding services for veterans and important infrastructure projects to Tinian and Rota.
Representative Staffler said she is ensuring that the Northern Marianas Technical Institute gets its fair share of the CW fees.
Rep. Tina Sablan mentioned some of the priorities that her committee, Health and Welfare, is working on. She mentioned in particular the issue of medical referrals. She said her committee is working on legislation that will provide protection for the medical referral program. She emphasized “the importance of healthcare as an economic driver” in the Commonwealth.
Corina Magofna
