Fitial joins gubernatorial race

Armed with a strong campaign platform that lays down concrete plans on making education accessible to all and the determination to alleviate CNMI’s economic woes, House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial announced he is running for governor in the November polls.

He joins three other prominent personalities who have officially announced plans to run for the hotly-contested seat in Capitol Hill come general elections in a little over eight months.

A seasoned lawmaker, Mr. Fitial enjoys the strong support of the business community due to his optimistic visions on the capabilities of the local economy to flourish given the right utilization of available resources.

“I am running for governor because like you, I believe that we have the tools to make our economy stronger. I am running because I believe we have the tools necessary to ensure that our education system is stronger,” he told waves of supporters during the formal announcement of his candidacy yesterday.

From the time he first joined public service, Mr. Fitial has been a consistent advocate of business growth through the advancement of the quality of education in the CNMI, which he believes would bring about skilled and knowledgeable local economic managers.

While faced with major business slowdown, Mr. Fitial believes the Northern Marianas has never lost the right instrument in creating more job opportunities, reducing cost of living on the islands, and making the delivery of government and public services more efficient.

“I am announcing my candidacy because as far as I can tell, the one thing we don’t have is a candidate who can take the dreams of the Commonwealth and turn them into reality. I believe that I am the candidate to take our hopes for a brighter future and turn them into a reality,” he said before waves of supporters.

Economic growth

He is confident that his assumption into the highest seat in the CNMI government would pave the way for a strengthened Commonwealth economy, better educational system, and lower cost of living for all Northern Marianas residents.

During yesterday’s gathering, Mr. Fitial laid down his blueprint for a better Commonwealth which gives the community a glimpse of what he is determined to do in ensuring that CNMI residents enjoy a better life.

Highlighting the islands’ potentials for growth, Mr. Fitial says he will commission a new economic development panel whose sole priority is to attract five new major businesses to the CNMI within the first year of his administration.

He added that this economic body will be directly responsible for the creation of 2,000 new, high-paying jobs.

Among other things, Mr. Fitial is also bent at instituting a tax holiday period for both existing and new businesses that would invest in the CNMI in 2002, and a tax credit program for landlords who would lower rental fees by $100 a month for local tenants.

At least $55-million worth of bonds will be floated to fully compensate the $20 million retroactive salary increase for government employees called for by Public Law 7-31, and to pay off the $35 million private land acquisition cost long overdue to private property owners.

“These policies will undoubtedly turn our economy around. I will propose them. I will implement them. And with your help, I will make our economy stronger than we all thought was possible,” he told supporters.

Mr. Fitial mentioned that turning the economy around would never be possible without the needed improvement in the delivery of educational services to the community, which should keep local students at pace with technological advances in other parts of the world.

“I plan to institute an aggressive education plan that will ensure CNMI students of all ages have the same access to learning tools that are available in other areas of the world,” he emphasized.

He is a firm believer of the ability to advance the plight of his constituents through education, augmented by knowledge and skills on information management and other areas of technology.

Mr. Fitial is running for the gubernatorial race under the umbrella of the proposed Covenant Party, which is now in the final stage of being organized. The new political party will be spearheaded by Eloy Inos and Placido Tagabuel who were elected chair and vice chair respectively.

Mr. Fitial and his allies are still in the process of identifying who would be his running mate who has to share with him the same visions and is equally-determined to put their visions into reality and within reach by the community.

According to Mr. Fitial, the committee has a shortlist of possible running mate but is still working diligently to make sure the campaign platform will be implemented soon after they assume the office.

“As this campaign moves forward, you will hear me repeat the words education and economy everyday. If you believe as I do that our economy can be stronger, I ask you to stand with me in this campaign. If you believe that in order to improve our educational system we need to do more than talk about it, I ask you to join my campaign,” he said.