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Santos takes over NI mayoral post
Vicente Cruz Santos Jr., right, signs the document formalizing his post as the new Northern Islands mayor while acting governor Victor B. Hocog looks on. (Contributed Photo)
Vicente Cruz Santos Jr. formally took over the Northern Islands mayoral post after being sworn in by acting governor Victor B. Hocog on Monday at the Governor’s Office’s on Capital Hill.
Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council chair Luis John Castro, who was the acting Northern Islands mayor following the former mayor’s death, and Santos’ wife Rita were present to witness the oath-taking ceremony.
Santos replaced the late mayor Francisco Jerome Kaipat Aldan, who died on Feb. 18 and was laid to rest more than a week later. He was 43 years old and was survived by his mother Clotilde, spouse Norma, and children Celing, Zachary, Zasha, Zavannah, and Zode.
Hocog assured Santos that he has the full backing of the administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for the benefit of the people of the Northern Islands.
“Gov. Torres and I stand ready to work with you as you assume the mayorship. …I ask for your cooperation to continue the valuable work and programs that late mayor Aldan started. Be assured of our administration’s support. We trust you will treat as paramount no less the utmost interests of our Northern Islands residents.”
Santos, who ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 mayoral elections, lost to Aldan, who was fielded by the local Republican Party. Only a margin of 33 votes separated the two candidates but were enough to give Aldan the mayoralty post.
Santos filed an election protest after losing the election to Aldan, saying the latter is not a Northern Islands resident and that there were illegal votes cast. He lost the election contest.
NMI officials are hoping Aldan’s replacement as Northern Islands mayor, in this case Santos, would continue his programs, especially the planned homesteading program on the island of Pagan and opposing any bombing activity by the United States military.
Pagan is one of the 10 islands that compose the Municipality of the Northern Islands, shards of rocks scattered in an area of more than 500 square kilometers in the Western Pacific. People living on Pagan Island were forcibly evacuated when its volcano erupted in May 1981.
