AS he and his running mate prepare for the Nov. 25 runoff election, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said he intends to have direct communication with the newly elected or re-elected legislators.
“If we are blessed and given [the opportunity] to serve the Commonwealth for the next four years, I will not wait until January,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday. “I would ask to have a summit, close the book on whatever has transpired… close this chapter in the CNMI, open a new one, and start an open dialogue. My door is open.”
He said he looks forward to a discussion, and perhaps even a quarterly or monthly meeting with lawmakers where they will all sit down together and say, “These are our issues, here are the resources, how do we all move forward?”
After the runoff, “I think the best thing is to close this chapter because the people [have] voted. Regardless of whether you like it or you don’t, the people [have] voted. Let’s close this chapter, move forward, and start taking care of the people of the Commonwealth with one approach.”
Torres said that he has reached out to the other camps, and has been receiving calls from them, but has not directly spoken with Democratic Reps. Christina “Tina” Sablan and Leila Staffler.
Sablan and Staffler came in third in the gubernatorial race and have endorsed the Independent tandem of Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang.
“I want to congratulate everyone that has won,” the governor said. “And those who did not make it, I [also] want to congratulate you for putting your name in and giving…the community…[a choice],” he said.
For his part, his running mate, Senate Floor Leader Vinnie F. Sablan, said, “I think working together and moving forward, it’s a two-way street. I’m definitely going to welcome working together with the Legislature…. That’s one thing that I’ve been good at in the Legislature: not burning down any bridges, and then continuing to work and to be cordial and professional with people.”
He added, “If we all just perform our tasks that have been given to us…we can move forward smoothly. That’s where I think we will come together.”
“That’s one thing I really want,” he said, “[for] everyone to just move forward. Let bygones be bygones. Let’s…work for the people, so that we can bring what we need to bring to improve the quality of lives in this Commonwealth.”
