“IT must be an election year when a sitting senator chooses to question the just decision of the chief executive when there are more important issues facing our Commonwealth,” Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said on Tuesday.
He was asked to comment on Democratic Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero’s questioning his hiring of former Guam Republican Sen. Wil Castro as Torres’s chief of staff.
“His professional experience speaks for itself: a senior adviser to a two-term governor, a senior aide on healthcare reform, a two-term senator, a long-standing civic leader, and a former educator in both Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands,” Torres said, referring to Castro.
“His desire to move all of our Marianas, of which Wil is a son, forward, is unwavering and a testament to his motivation to serve in this capacity.”
The governor said Castro had turned down higher-paying private opportunities to continue his career as a public servant.
He also opted not to uproot his family on Guam from their professional and educational responsibilities while he serves the people of the Commonwealth, the governor said.
Castro is engaged to Dr. Debra T. Cabrera. Together, they have two children, Liam and Mariåna.
“If Senator Deleon Guerrero thinks that Wil was hired solely on his educational achievements, then she is badly mistaken. Wil has proven time and again, and long before joining my administration, that the people of the CNMI and our welfare are paramount to him,” the governor said.
“Rather than approach this matter with decorum, Sen. Deleon Guerrero instead chose free media over the professional route of inafa’maolek. Sen. Deleon Guerrero, in one breath, is both enamored by and condescending of Wil’s education. This is unfortunate because she is pitting our people against each other under the guise of governance. Her ‘What about?’ tone is divisive, injurious and insincere,” Torres said, referring to his former Labor secretary. In May 2017, Torres accepted her courtesy resignation.
“By her unsound rationale, should we not hire off-island medical professionals, technical craftsmen, or entice off-island investors to come to the CNMI? This borders on hypocrisy on many levels. Wil has a history of bridging gaps in policy, and he is an ardent supporter of our natural resources, finance, healthcare, and economic prosperity. He is a proven communicator on many local, federal and international platforms,” the governor added.
Castro holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guam, a master’s degree from Harvard University with graduate credits from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and attained doctoral candidacy from Columbia University.
On Guam, he has served as a senator, senior advisor to the governor, director of the Bureau of Statistics and Plans, chief technology officer of the Office of Technology, chief planner and acting associate superintendent of the public school system, special assistant to the president and chairman of the University of Guam, and director of advancement at St. John’s School.
In the CNMI, he has served as the director of institutional effectiveness at Northern Marianas College.
He has also held memberships on several regional and national bodies, such as the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council and Pacific Islands Regional Planning Body.
Castro also holds various training certifications, including ethics in government service.
Wil Castro
