It’s voting time again

We are entering the vote-getting frenzy season. In November 2001, we will be voting for a new governor. Almost a year and a half in advance, we already see and hear aspiring candidates lining up to do battle for this prestigious position. During this long grueling period, we will be deluged with all kinds of inundating promises on how the CNMI will prosper again. But what disturbs me is the method we use to elect the highest official in our country.

Everyone is well aware the largest “family connections” will most likely elect our next governor. The easiest part to becoming governor is to belong to a large family with a running mate also belonging to a large family.
Couple that situation with loads of job promises for all the relatives. And the winner is Mr. XYZ.

Yes, sir, vote for the man with the highest number of relatives. Disregard all the socio-economic problems. No need to be well versed in problem solving or understand the needs of the community. Just have a big family. “Big daddy” will take care of all the problems.

If we continue on this road of selection, we will be facing more and more serious problems, not just the loss of our right to control immigration and minimum wages. We will be facing more economic decline and more joblessness.

It is vital that the next governor must be able to converse on a one-on-one basis with the Federal government. He must know his way through the halls of Congress. It isn’t enough that he take a once-in-a-while trip to Washington and expect respect and willingness to listen to our needs. He must be on a first name basis with the top power movers there.
The CNMI needs a man who understands the issues and is not afraid to do innovative thinking regardless of popularity.

The next governor must understand that government exists only because the private sector feeds it. He must understand that If its citizens are unqualified to work, they must be educated and trained. Everyone must become productive citizens, not drones in a government bureaucracy. Our youths’ goal in life should not be a government job.

The new leader will see what improvements are needed in the community and take swift action to rectify them immediately. He must not keep saying we have no money or we need another study. Meanwhile the needed improvement continues as a disaster.

A case in point is our illustrious dump. For the past sixteen years that I have resided in Saipan, I have heard three different governors tell us the dump problem will be solved.
Despite the fact that $26,000,000.00 has been available since 1993, and numerous studies done on how to best remove the dump, we are still where we were when I first arrived in 1984. Only now the dump stands about 50 feet higher than before. How many more studies do we need? Yep, it’s the old con game-pile higher and deeper.

The next governor must be a fighter with an aura of charisma. He must not be burdened with sycophants who cannot think. He must be a person who will solve issues. He must be wellversed in the arena of world politics as well as local. Issues, and the ability to field them well must be the sole criteria for selecting our next governor.

Don’t keep voting for a governor solely based on the extended family. Vote for a man who understands both domestic and international savoir-faire. Vote for a man who is aggressive, innovative, and capable of solving our problems He is waiting in the wings and will come out soon.