THE Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors on Friday voted to offer the executive director’s position to former CPA comptroller Derek T. Sasamoto.
Sasamoto was ranked by the review panel as the second highest among the five qualified applicants. The board turned to him after its first choice, Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Christopher Concepcion, declined the offer last week.
Sasamoto was first hired as CPA deputy comptroller on Jan. 23, 2010, and was promoted to the comptroller’s position two months later.
In light of CPA Executive Director Christopher Tenorio’s resignation, which will take effect on Oct. 20, CPA announced a vacancy and formed an ad hoc search or review panel comprised of representatives from MVA, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association of the NMI, the CPA Airport Operators Committee, the Port Operators and Users Committee, CPA board vice chairman Ramon A. Tebuteb and member Joseph Diaz, who chairs the board’s personnel committee.
From nine applicants pre-screened by the CPA human resources division, the number of aspirants went down to five because the other four applicants did not meet the educational requirements and/or had a conflict of interest.
Of the five remaining applicants the review panel ranked Concepcion the highest, and Sasamoto, the second highest.
In a special board meeting on Friday, Diaz moved to offer Sasamoto the executive director’s position.
CPA board member Antonio B. Cabrera raised his hand, but the chairwoman, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, told him, “I will not recognize you because you have a conflict in this matter.”
But Cabrera, who applied for the executive director’s position, continued talking, prompting King-Hinds to call for a recess.
During recess, Cabrera continued sharing his remarks.
He said “many are surprised, including myself,” that the CPA board conducted a special meeting when the terms of office of two board members “who primarily orchestrated this meeting” would expire. He was referring to King-Hinds and Pete P. Reyes whose terms expired on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Cabrera described them as “holdover” board members and criticized the board’s decision to hire a new executive director when Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ three nominees to the CPA board are pending in the Senate. The nominees are businessman Jose C. Ayuyu, retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Dolores Kiyoshi and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Deputy Commissioner Steve Mesngon.
Cabrera also noted that Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, in an acting capacity as governor two weeks ago, asked the CPA board to refrain from hiring an executive director and ports managers “to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for…new CPA appointees who will soon constitute a majority of the board overseeing CPA’s lead administrative personnel.”
Saying that the special meeting and the agenda were “woefully flawed, and seemingly void for vagueness as it provides totally insufficient public notice,” Cabrera said the board’s decision to ignore Apatang’s request was “not merely a disrespectful, defiant and immature exercise of petty politics, but is just plain wrong.”
He said if the board would move ahead with hiring a new executive director, the board should include a “probationary/contractual employment term…during which the contract may be immediately terminated by the board with or without cause [so they can] then hire a new one.”
After the recess, the CPA board went back into session with King-Hinds, Tebuteb, Diaz, Reyes, and Thomas Villagomez voting to offer Sasamoto the executive director’s position.
Board member Antonio B. Cabrera abstained.
King-Hinds said with five yes votes and one abstention because of conflict of interest, “the board would be offering the executive position to the second highest-ranked candidate.”
