Cing said Crisostimo lied when he claimed he is a “national Democrat” and would support whoever was nominated by the local party.
The former Tinian senator said Crisostimo should refrain from insisting that he is still a Democrat while running as an Independent candidate.
There’s an old saying, Cing said: “All poodles are dog but not all dogs are poodle.”
Cing recalled that Crisostimo, three months ago, told the public that he would support the Democratic Party candidate.
Instead, Cing said, Crisostimo left their party once again to run as an Independent candidate.
The voters, Cing said, are “kind of confused about” Crisostimo’s candidacy.
He added that Crisostimo is claiming to be a national Democrat.
But according to Cing,. in order to be a registered member of the national Democratic Party in a particular state, one has to be a resident of that state.
Cing said if Crisostimo is truly a registered national Democrat, “what is he doing here as senator?”
The former senator at the same time urged Crisostimo to resign as required by the CNMI Constitution.
Cing, a member of the 1985 Constitutional Convention, said Article VIII, Section 5 of the Constitution states that “An elected public official shall resign from office upon certification to be a candidate for another public office, if the term of the office sought begins before the end of the term of the office held.”
“Why is Crisostimo still holding his office while running for another position? He can run as delegate if that is his decision but he has to resign as senator,” Cing said.
As an elected official, he added, Crisostimo “swore to uphold the Constitution — so why is he violating one of its provisions?”
