Serving as delegate ‘honor of my lifetime’

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP), who has represented the CNMI in U.S. Congress for 16 years, made his final address to his constituents during a townhall meeting yesterday at the NMI Museum of History and Culture.

Yesterday, members of the community and CNMI dignitaries joined Sablan for his final townhall before the end of his 16-year-long run as the CNMI’s nonvoting delegate in U.S. Congress.

Aside from a number of resolutions presented in his honor, the NMI Museum also unveiled a special exhibit dedicated to Sablan’s monumental work in U.S. Congress.

In his address to the community, Sablan shared some of his accomplishments for the CNMI through his consecutive eight terms.

“I was first elected with 27% of the votes in 2008. In addition to having established the very first Marianas office in the U.S. House of Representatives, I did so knowing that most voters wanted someone else to represent them. Because we never had representation in Congress, we never knew what that position could accomplish. There was one obvious and immediate problem, making the transition to federal control of immigration as least difficult as possible. Voters seemed relatively satisfied with re-electing me. Immigration aside, I set two goals for myself in my time in office; make sure the Commonwealth was included in many programs where we were told ‘no’ and bring respect to the Marianas through my conduct in office. The Commonwealth is said to be included in more programs now than when I was first elected from $60 million earmarked for projects in the Marianas, to making sure the Marianas was cared for with billions of dollars after typhoons struck and the pandemic killed our economy,” he said.

However, Sablan said the work isn’t over.

“But I know there is still much to do legislatively to put our Commonwealth on par with the rest of the United States and I truly wish our new delegate-elect success in reaching those goals during her time in office. I also believe that in my time in office, the image of our islands improved. Most members of Congress now know the Marianas exists. We all hope our new delegate will earn the respect of her colleagues in Congress and by doing so she will also bring respect to our islands and our people,” he said.

Sablan said he hopes to show his gratitude by continuing to contribute to the welfare of the community even out of Congress.

“I will miss the work, so it is with sadness that I leave this job that has been the honor of my lifetime. But the Bible tells us that every man has their season and now is the time to give way to a new generation of leadership. The sadness is washed away by the gratitude to the people of the Marianas trusted me to work for them for the last 16 years. In the days to come, I hope the people of the Marianas would have the chance to see this exhibit among their first delegate to Congress and they can take inspiration from what can be accomplished with trust, handwork, and dedication,” he said.

Delegate-elect Kimberlyn King-Hinds who just returned from Washington, D.C. shared her appreciation for Sablan and says she will continue the work he left behind.

“Kilili has done tremendous things for the CNMI and I’m very cognizant of the shoes I have to fill. I hope to continue working on some of the legislations that he’s put forward and advocate for some of the things he has been advocating for over the years, I call it unfinished business, but we’re also going to be looking for new opportunities for the CNMI in terms of just getting the additional resources that we need and also advance policies that allows the CNMI to be economically self-sustainable,” she said.