PRESS Secretary Kevin Bautista said he is not running for elected office.
“I honestly haven’t thought about running for office,” he added.
Some residents and voters told Variety that they were impressed by his performance under pressure and had asked whether he is interested in running for elected office in the next elections.
Kevin Bautista
“I’m grateful for the sentiments,” Bautista said, “but personally, I feel through my current capacity I’m making the most impact on our community by being [in] public administration, helping the governor and lt. governor implement policies within the executive branch right now.”
He added, “The CNMI’s problems are often external and too complex for simple solutions. Governmental action is incremental at best or completely broken at worst, so it requires a collaborative approach of elected officials, institutions, and people working together harmoniously. I’m interested in being part of the work with the governor and lt. governor to help achieve that goal for our closely knit community.”
Bautista said he has been “fortunate to work with a lot of young, educated professionals around government because of Governor Torres’ goal of inclusivity and creating opportunities for young people who are coming home from college and wanting to give back to our community in a positive way.”
He said the administration “definitely wants to see that trend continue in order to create a government that is more innovative and responsive to the demands of an ever-changing world.”
Bautista said his experience working for over the last five years “has really taught me that anyone can serve the community [in] their own capacities.”
He said, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be as an elected official. I think if the moment calls for it I’ll consider it in the future, but right now I’m interested in serving the Commonwealth as a member of the Torres-Palacios administration to provide real solutions for our community’s complex challenges.”
Bautista received his bachelor’s degree in political science with minors in history and Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies from the University of Michigan.
He was a research assistant for the University of Michigan Institute of Social Research from 2013 to 2014 and a research assistant for the University of Michigan Department of Political Science from 2012 to 2013.
In 2014, Bautista interned for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management-Office of Diversity and Inclusion and for the OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates in Washington, D.C.
Bautista served as policy analyst and special projects coordinator for the Office of the Governor before he assumed the role of press secretary in 2017.
While serving as press secretary for the Torres-Palacios administration, Bautista is currently enrolled in a master of public administration online program at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy.
