“Beautify CNMI gave me the best four years of my life and it was the people that I have worked with and met in the coalition that is the best part of being involved in it,” he said yesterday.
The coalition’s mission, he added, is to bring the whole community together to make the island clean and preserve its natural beauty.
Beautify CNMI was the first organization to organize an islandwide cleanup that drew the participation of thousands of people.
Villagomez promoted the coalition through the Internet by creating an interactive Web site for it and reaching it to schools.
Farewell
Villagomez said his family is supportive and understanding of his decision to pursue a doctorate in marine life but some of his Beautify CNMI colleagues are “disappointed.”
He said “as long as the group works together, Beautify CNMI will be successful” with or without him.
He wants to see more people get involved in community service.
Politics
Villagomez said he does not have any regret despite losing the Saipan mayoral race.
He said he is happy to be a candidate.
Villagomez placed third in a nine-way race.
As mayor, he believed he could have done a “pretty good job” in addressing the stray dog issue and beautifying the island.
He said Mayor Juan B. Tudela failed to address these issues but he is hoping that newly elected mayor, Donald Flores, will tackle them.
The people and not the government must be the vehicle for change, Villagomez said.
Someday he would like to see island residents separate family and government when casting their votes.
That type of freedom and the “Do it Yourself” American attitude were practiced by Beautify CNMI, he said.
