Sablan said more politicians belonging to the ruling Covenant Party will align themselves with the Republican Party ahead of the general elections.
“I guess it’s the in-thing now, joining the GOP,” he said and added, “I’m not surprised that (Villagomez) did it. He doesn’t want to go down with a sinking ship.”
Sablan said Gov. Benigno Fitial now has to keep the party he founded from further disintegrating.
“The burden now is on the governor,” Sablan said.
Under the Fitial administration, he noted there have been constant power outages and a worsening economy.
In the 2005 elections, Fitial and Villagomez promised “Better Times.”
Villagomez, a former director of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. before he began his political career, said his family has always been associated with the Republican Party.
Fitial himself chaired the GOP in the 1990s.
He founded the Covenant Party in 2001 to run for governor.
He lost by a landslide to Republican Juan N. Babauta.
Four years later, however, the GOP suffered its worst election defeat, allowing Fitial to win in the four-way race by 84 votes.
Independent candidate Heinz S. Hofschneider placed second, ahead of Babauta.
Hofschneider left the GOP after its leadership — who were Babauta’s appointees — made the unprecedented decision not to hold a gubernatorial primary.
The Democratic Party, for its part, has lost three consecutive gubernatorial elections since 1992.
Sablan said political tensions among old party members continue to undermine their ability to re-unite.
The Democratic Party held two general membership meetings to electing their new set of officers.
Both events, however, were postponed due to unannounced power outages.
“The power went out. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or what,” Sablan said.
