The Saipan Republican said he considered running as Rep. Diego T. Benavente’s candidate for lt. governor in the GOP gubernatorial primary, “but we decided that we will put that on hold because of so many reasons that are useless to talk about now.”
Benavente, a three-time speaker and former lt. governor, has said that he will seek another term in the House of Representatives.
Reyes said if he wins another term, Saipan’s power crisis and the Retirement Fund will remain his priorities.
“We still need to find solutions to this power problem. This has been, and will continue to be, a priority. And we’re still working on trying to resolve the issue of [the] Retirement [Fund]. Hopefully, someone will pick up the pace and do something about it. If I were governor, the issue of paying [the government’s] contributions would [not be a major problem]. I’m hoping for some seriousness in addressing this issue.”
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1993, Reyes secured a second term in 1995 and was elected to the Senate two years later. He was re-elected in 2001 and 2005.
In Jan. 2008, he became Senate president, the first from Saipan since 1998.
This November, voters will elect a governor, a lt. governor, two senators each from Saipan, Tinian and Rota, 20 House members, four municipal mayors, nine municipal council members and two Board of Education members.
