Siemer, who works as a volunteer lawyer for the Department of Labor, sent an e-mail to Sablan that was intended for Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta Kaipat.
In her e-mail Siemer “coached” Kaipat on how to deal with Sablan’s queries.
Siemer told Kaipat that Sablan views her, the deputy secretary, as “a rising political star, and she’s upset that someone she tried to brand as a racist is succeeding in persuading her colleagues in the Legislature.”
“So we’ll be on her radar screen for awhile,” Siemer added. “It is useful not to answer too promptly, but promptly enough. Letting her wait for a week or 10 days sends a message that we are respectful of all legislators, but we help productive people first and she is not in that line.”
Sablan, in an e-mail to Siemer, stated: “The level of gamesmanship that you are playing at the Department of Labor is disturbing, to say the least, and only raises more questions for me about the legitimacy of your role there.”
According to Sablan, “My concerns about the department’s conduct and policies have nothing to do with the deputy secretary’s political ambitions, and even less to do with political ambitions on my part. I would hope that the department would take my concerns seriously, whether you agree with me politically or not, whether you like me personally or not. It is clear from this e-mail that the department does not take them seriously — or at least, that you do not, Ms. Siemer.”
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. defended Siemer, saying that the e-mail was sent to Sablan “by mistake, apparently.”
He added that the Fitial administration remains proud of the labor reforms implemented by Kaipat and Siemer.
“They have done a terrific and unprecedented job clearing out a huge backlog of labor cases, automating the system, including the use of a new Web site, and bringing about quicker processing and more efficiency. Labor has come a long way,” Reyes told the Variety.
Siemer is the wife of Howard P. Willens, the governor’s special legal counsel.
The two are the main proponents of the governor’s decision to sue the federal government over the CNMI federalization law.
