Advice for Jesse

“Jesse Borja has got to reach out to the common people,” said a CNMI voter over lunch. “He has to bring people together under his camp.”

Mr. Borja probably could have placed ahead of Froilan Tenorio in the last election–had he made a greater effort to reach out to the people, including his own extended family members, who never should have been taken for granted in the first place.

Some of Mr. Borja’s more distant relatives have privately complained that he did not bother to ask for their votes. Mr. Borja needs to openly ask for the vote, even from his extended family members. In politics, a candidate running for public office cannot afford to remain detached or aloof. He has to actively–personally–involve himself throughout the campaign trail.

But in the last gubernatorial election, Mr. Borja never personally asked me for my vote. He never asked many of my (our) family members for the vote. His immediate family members apparently did not bother to ask either, or so I am told.

To be sure, Mr. Borja is a dignified man. He is competent and well educated. He is articulate. He no doubt has certain qualifications that his opponents may lack. As a result, the Democratic candidate may not deign to ask for the vote. He may well expect the people to naturally realize that he is plainly the best candidate for governor. But this would be another costly mistake.

It is not enough that Mr. Borja is well educated. It is not enough that he may have certain qualifications that his opponents may severely lack.

Mr. Borja must not be perceived to be arrogant and aloof, above the rabble. In this upcoming gubernatorial election, Mr. Borja desperately needs to reach out on a personal level. Television campaign commercials will not do it. He needs to be more like George W. Bush, to cultivate a more affable disposition.

After all, let us not forget who won the last gubernatorial election: none other than Mr. Pedro P. Tenorio himself, a man well loved by the people. Teno won by a landslide. He won because he reached out to the people with genuine concern and compassion. Teno was better with the people. It did not matter that he did not graduate from Georgetown Law School. Froilan and Jesse could not match Teno’s personal charm and warmth, which endures and exudes even to the present.

My advice to Mr. Borja: reach out and ask for the vote this time. And keep some of your more controversial supporters way out of view. Even JFK had the good sense to keep old Joseph P. in the closet.

Strictly a personal view. Charles Reyes Jr. is a regular columnist of Saipan Tribune. Mr. Reyes may be reached at charlesraves@hotmail.com