Northern Marianas College President Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero poses with his family and supporters in a group photo after he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Congress at his residence in Marpi on Thursday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
TWO days after celebrating his 52nd birthday, Northern Marianas College President Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero, Ed.D., on Thursday evening announced his independent candidacy for the CNMI’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A longtime educator and president of NMC for the past four years, Deleon Guerrero made his announcement at 5 p.m. at his residence in Marpi, surrounded by family, friends, and supporters.
He said the decision to leave the college was difficult — just as it was when he left Mount Carmel School, where he previously served as president and taught high school students in Advanced Placement English, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, and even advised the school’s theater club.
‘Fighting for us’
“The Commonwealth is home to good, hardworking people who, despite all the economic challenges, are still fighting to put food on the table, pay their CUC bills, afford healthcare, earn a livable income, and make the most out of so much less for their families,” Deleon Guerrero said in his prepared remarks.
After much reflection, conversations with loved ones, and prayer, he added, “it is with great humility that I announce my candidacy to serve as the next CNMI delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.”
“We need a delegate who listens, not lectures. Who brings people together instead of tearing them apart. Who speaks up for us, not talks down to us. We need a delegate who fights for us, not against us. That’s why I stand here today — to take a stand and take up the fight,” he said.
“To fight for working families. To fight for fairness across all our islands. To fight for our educational institutions that are under attack. To fight for small businesses, our veterans, our youth, our environment, and our future.”
He emphasized that “fighting for us” is not a campaign slogan but a promise.
“It’s a commitment to the people of the CNMI — and to the generations who are still counting on us to rise to this moment, just as our people did 50 years ago,” he said, referring to the Covenant agreement that made the NMI part of the United States, built on the promise of self-government and economic prosperity.
“When I say ‘fighting for us,’ I’m not saying I’m going to argue with everyone, step into the octagon, or throw down in the Joeten parking lot,” he said.
“For me, ‘fighting for us’ means standing up — day in and day out — for the people and the places we love. It means showing up when it’s hard. It means not only having the courage to speak truth to power, but also the humility to listen deeply to all our people and work with them.”
Most importantly, he added, it means “advocating for our students, our workers, our public servants, our veterans, our law enforcement, our families, our manamko’, our manhoben — for all of us.”
‘We deserve better’
Deleon Guerrero said his decision was driven by a desire to bring stronger and more consistent advocacy to Washington, D.C.
“We deserve better. The people of the CNMI deserve better — and that is why I’m running,” he said. “We deserve more than just a seat in Congress. We deserve a voice that won’t back down. We deserve a fighter — fighting for us.”
He said the people of the CNMI deserve a fighter like his uncle, former U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, who for 16 years “fought for us in the halls of Congress and secured legislative wins by collaborating with both sides of the aisle.”
“Kilili introduced and successfully passed signature legislation for the CNMI in a Republican Congress with a Republican President to protect the NMI workforce and its business community — even when others said it was impossible. And, alongside Democrats, Kilili fought to increase food assistance and Medicaid benefits for families that need it the most.”
Deleon Guerrero said his uncle taught him how to fight effectively — “and I intend to fight just as effectively as he did for our people in Congress.”
He also cited his father, Vicente “Ben Rai” Cabrera Deleon Guerrero, as a role model.
“He was a scrappy little fighter who served in the U.S. Army for two years before returning home to serve as a representative in the Third Commonwealth Legislature, and later as the first special assistant for Veterans Affairs, during which he completed the Veterans’ Memorial Park in Kilili Beach. He worked with the VA to make sure our veterans got the care they needed. He taught me how to fight with tenacity — and I intend to fight with the same tenacity my dad had for our veterans and our people.”
Deleon Guerrero also paid tribute to his mother, Jessica Sablan Deleon Guerrero.
“She has fought her whole life by working hard her whole life — at a travel agency, at PSS, the CNMI Department of Labor, and at American Memorial Park. Now, in her retirement, she still works: as a full-time grandma and a volunteer at Kristo Rai.”
“Even after my dad passed away, she continued to work for me, my brother Norman, and my sister Jen in a house she paid for all by herself. She taught me how to fight by working hard — and I plan on working just as hard in Congress as my mom did for us.”
He also honored his wife, Velma.
“When I met her, she too was a widowed, single mother — working full time, going to college full time, and raising our daughter full time. No matter what hit her — health issues, bad bosses, tragic losses — she hit back harder. Because she fights tooth and nail for me and our kids.”
“She taught me how to fight for family, and I plan on fighting in Congress for our Commonwealth family, just as my wife fights for me, Victoria, William, and Mary Shelley.”
A future worth fighting for
“Tonight,” he concluded, “as we reflect on the 50 years since our people made that bold choice to join the United States, I ask everyone here and across the Marianas to imagine what we can accomplish in the next 50 — if we work together, believe together, and fight together.”
“Because the future of the Marianas deserves nothing less than our very best in Washington. That is why I humbly ask you to choose me to be your delegate — because I pledge to give nothing but my best, always fighting for us.”
The CNMI’s incumbent delegate is Kimberlyn King-Hinds, who was elected in November 2024 and sworn in five months ago.
In a WhatsApp message to Variety, King-Hinds said, “I want to congratulate Galvin on declaring his candidacy. He’s a good friend, and I’ve always believed in encouraging people to level up and contribute to our community in whatever way they can.”
Northern Marianas College President Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero, EdD announces that he is running for the U.S. Congress in next year’s election.
