“The CNMI Constitution provides that there shall be six house representatives m Election Precinct I. Until such time that the census enumeration requires reapportionment, then the people in Election Precinct I are legally entitled to be represented by six representatives.
“Right now, the people of Election Precinct I are underrepresented due to the resignation of their duly elected Rep. Ed Propst. The Constitution also provides a simple process for filling the remaining unexpired term of Representative Propst. That process is described in Article II, Section 9.
“In February 2013 the House of Representatives passed a Resolution containing 16 articles of impeachment against Gov. Benigno R. Fitial. Three of the articles of impeachment related to the dereliction or neglect of his duty in not appointing the complete membership of the Public Utility Commission and the Civil Service Commission, and the failure to transmit a nomination for chief justice of the Commonwealth Supreme Court for consideration and confirmation by the Senate.
“If the House of Representatives considers dereliction or neglect of duty as an impeachable offense, then the Governor should be held ‘impeachably’ accountable for not acting to appoint a new member of the House under the provisions of Article II, Section 9, so that the people of Election Precinct I can be adequately and constitutionally represented.
“It is a travesty of justice when our citizens’ rights are held in abeyance due to political pandering and gamesmanship. In failing to act in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 9 of our Constitution, the Governor has undermined the integrity of his office, and has betrayed the trust of those he swore to serve, to the manifest injury of the people of Election Precinct I.”
30 days
Asked for comment, the administration said:
“The Office of the Governor received the official communication from the Speaker officially declaring the legislative vacancy for Precinct 1 in the House of Representatives on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. In line with Article II, Section 9 of the CNMI Constitution and with respect for the separation of powers between two equal branches of government, the Governor respectfully waited for a vacancy to be officially declared by the Speaker of the House before acting on the appointment. Moreover, in line with 1 CMC § 6502 and historical precedent with other Legislative vacancies, the Governor has 30 days from the date of the declared vacancy to appoint the unsuccessful candidate for the office.
“It has only been three days since the Governor officially received the letter, and the Democratic Party calls this a dereliction of duties? Over the course of the last three days, the Governor and Lt. Governor conducted their constitutional duties as actual elected officials by signing an agreement that reopens the Marianas Motocross Park for our racing community, unveiling the first fully equipped Alternate Care Site in the Pacific to mitigate against surges of Covid-19 cases, and handing over new federally funded vehicles to the Department of Public Safety for traffic control and patrolling to keep our villages safe.
“This press release from the Democratic Party underscores several things. It is apparent that the sole focus of their party is to impeach a Governor they do not like, just because he is not a part of their party. They choose to spend their energy writing a politically charged half-page press release on the last Friday before Election Day rather than to present a clear platform of what they would do for the people.
“The people of the CNMI deserve so much better than rhetoric that doesn’t provide actual solutions to the global challenges affecting our community. While the Democrats continue to divide and mislead the Marianas, Governor Torres, Lt. Governor Palacios, and the Republican leadership of the Legislature will continue to do the work they have done to keep our islands the safest place in the U.S. from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Republican Party has provided an actual platform that protects people’s health, rebuilds our economy, safely brings back tourism through a travel bubble concept, rebuilds homes, provides jobs for our residents with the increase in federal funding awarded to this administration because of diligent planning and partnership with the White House, and bring our islands back to where it was before the 2018 typhoon season.
“The Democratic Party can go ahead and choose to continue their political pandering and gamesmanship with their words and rhetoric without providing solutions. Governor Torres, Lt. Governor Palacios, and the Republican Party will continue to let their proactive action speak for itself and provide actual solutions to the global problems affecting our islands.”
