Mayor, Council have opposing views on bill

In a move that came as no surprise, Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela and Municipal Council Chair Gregorio V. Deleon Guerrero have taken directly opposite positions on a local bill that seeks to legislate the acting Mayor designee in the absence of the Mayor.

House Local Bill 13-019, as authored by Rep. Pedro P. Castro, intends to repeal Saipan Local Law 12-6, and to designate the presiding officer of the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council as acting Mayor for both Saipan and the Northern Islands.

Deleon Guerrero, who chairs the 7th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, endorsed the passage of the measure, while Tudela opposed it.

In a written testimony submitted to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, Deleon Guerrero said the council wants the bill passed because Saipan Local Law 12-6 has failed to include the designation of acting Mayor in the physical absence of the Mayor of the Northern Islands.

“House Local Bill 13-019 will correct this oversight,” Deleon Guerrero said. “For consistency, we recommend that the language of Article VI, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution be considered and extended to include physical absence of the Mayor of Saipan and Northern Islands.”

In the case of Saipan, the local law placed within the Mayor’s discretion on who shall be designated to act in his absence—a power that the council feels is too broad and could be abused.

“We feel that the designation of acting Mayor shall be limited to a person publicly elected within the framework of our local government. Traditionally, this system works,” Deleon Guerrero said.

Tudela, however, pointed out that, appointing an individual during his absence who is not familiar with the day-to-day operations of the office is highly questionable.

This was the premise behind the passage of Saipan Local Law 12-6, he said, which was designed to protect the Mayor’s authority and guarantee continuity to the daily operations of the office.

“To me, it does not make any sense for the Legislature to change its mind again regarding this important matter,” he stressed in a written testimony submitted to the delegation.

He added that the Mayors of Rota and Tinian share his views on the matter. Tudela said both Mayors select their acting Mayors based on their professional, technical, and administrative skills and hands-on ability to get the job done with a “can-do” attitude. “While the Mayors are off-island, the acting Mayor remains in close telephone contact to keep the office and all its activities usually ‘on course’ toward the intended destination,” he said.

To compel the Mayor by law to step aside for another individual who may be unfamiliar with the job, or worse, does not share the same destination politically or otherwise, could be potentially reckless and even dangerous, Tudela said.

“An acting Mayor, for example, can hire, fire, spend money, ask for funds to be reprogrammed, or essentially do mischief to the office if one so decides,” he stressed.