Chamber to host forum with candidates

Considering that some businesspeople might not have the time or inclination to attend village pocket meetings or fundraising events, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce wants to provide its members with an opportunity to meet the gubernatorial hopefuls and talk to them about their views on the issues of the day.

To meet this objective, the Chamber has rescheduled its traditional first Wednesday of the month meeting date to Friday, Sept. 22, when it is planning a special Candidates Forum at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

The event is being planned by the Chamber’s Board of Directors and management, along with its council of past presidents. Individual Chamber members have been invited to submit questions for the candidates to the Chamber office by Friday, Sept. 15. Questions will be pre-selected before the event to ensure that they are fair and cover a variety of issues.

“This will not be a formal debate, but a question and answer discussion on a variety of issues that our members have shown an interest in,” said Chamber president Lynn A. Knight.
“Our purpose here is to create a venue and an opportunity for our members to meet the candidates, if they have the time and interest in join us for lunch.”

According to the Chamber, all gubernatorial candidates who have either officially declared their candidacy with their party or expressed their interest publicly via the local media have been invited to participate in writing.
“We offered the opportunity to everyone. The event is non-partisan in nature and there will be nothing loaded about the questions,” said past SCC president David M. Sablan.

“This will give candidates an opportunity to speak out on why they’re running. This is not a debate; it’s a terrific opportunity,” said Efrain Camacho, former Chamber president.

According to the Chamber, each candidate will be given an opportunity to introduce themselves and their platform in five minutes, after which participating past presidents will pose questions that have been pre-selected from the Chamber members. The candidates will have a few minutes to answer each question on issues such as the economy, society, the environment and education.

The event will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a buffet lunch. One person from each Chamber member firm is invited free to the event; guests are $20 per person and should be accompanied by a Chamber member or belong to another business organization affiliated with the Western Pacific Economic Council.

Call the Chamber office at 233-7152 or e-mail saipanchamber@saipan.com for more information and/or reservation. Due to limited seating availability, reservations are strongly advised.

Proceeds from the event will go to help fund the Saipan Chamber of Commerce scholarship fund for local youth, as well as the Chamber’s “Cash for Trash” program, which is designed to help community groups raise money while cleaning up the environment.