REPRESENTATIVE Richard T. Lizama, the Democratic Party’s former mayoral candidate, congratulates Saipan Mayor-elect Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho for his victory.
In an interview on Friday, Lizama said it’s time for Camacho to be the next Saipan mayor.
A military veteran who represents Precinct 5 in the House, Lizama said he tried his best in this year’s mayoral election, “but I fell short.”
Camacho, a retired police major and former Board of Parole chairman, ran on the Independent slate of Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang and garnered 4,503 votes or 38.04% of the total vote cast. Republican Rep. Joseph Leepan Guerrero came in second with 4,184 votes or 35.34% of the total votes cast while Lizama placed third with 3,152 votes or 26.62% of the total votes cast.
Lizama said he is willing to work with the incoming mayor. “If he needs some of my ideas in working together, I’ll be there for him,” he added.
Among Lizama’s priorities if elected mayor was to make sure that the office of the mayor’s equipment is well maintained. When he was in active duty as a platoon sergeant, part of his job was to maintain military equipment. He said he was also in charge of an aviation field in Busan, South Korea.
He also believes that the mayor’s community workers should be on duty early in the morning so they can go home at lunch time. He said a similar work schedule has been implemented in U.S. cities.
To revive the island’s tourism industry, Lizama said Saipan should establish more sister-city ties with South Korea and Japan.
“We need to work on the sister-city program to bring more tourists to our island,” he added.
Rep. Richard T. Lizama poses for a photo in his office on Friday.
