Hofschneider-Apatang tops PSS mock poll

Independent gubernatorial bets Heinz Hofschneider and David Apatang topped a mock poll recently conducted by the Public School System for the Commonwealth’s upcoming gubernatorial race. Meantime, an online poll showed Covenant Party’s gubernatorial bets, House Speaker Benigno Fitial and Vice Speaker Tim Villagomez, rallying closely behind re-electionist Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente in the unofficial race.

In the PSS survey, Federal Programs advisor Tim Thornburgh said they held the activity Saturday as a civic education project, which they hope would yield a “wealth of data on voter preferences on key issues and candidates.”

A total of 225 people who claimed they are registered voters responded to the survey. Thornburgh said the survey was held in different locations on Saipan.

Hofschneider and Apatang garnered 26 percent of the vote, followed by Fitial and Villagomez, which captured 24 percent of the vote.

Incumbents Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego Benavente, of the Republican Party, placed third capturing 21 percent of the vote, while former governor Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Salas got 13 percent. Fifteen percent, or 34 voters, remained undecided.

In the Senate race, Sen. Pete P. Reyes and businesswoman Maria Pangelinan each garnered 20 percent of the vote followed by incumbents Thomas Villagomez and Claudio Norita, both with 18 percent of the votes. Former Commerce Secretary and congressman Andrew Salas received 13 percent, while only 3 percent voted for Jack Quitugua. Eight percent of the respondents were undecided.

Incumbent Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela, of the Covenant Party topped the survey for the mayoral seat with 36 percent of the votes. The Republic Party’s James Ada followed with 19 percent, while 16 percent of the people surveyed preferred Vic Cepeda. Frank Cepeda and Rick Duenas received 10 percent and 4 percent of the votes, respectively. Nineteen percent of the people quizzed said they are still undecided.

For Board of Education, current board member Herman T. Guerrero received 48 percent of the respondents’ votes. John Joyner got 37 percent of the votes, while 19 percent were still undecided.

In the online poll, Fitial made a strong showing in the past two days in the poll being hosted by CNMI Politics 2005, cutting down Babauta’s lead from 8 percent to 1 percent of the running total votes cast in a span of two days, 45 days before the official CNMI elections.

The gubernatorial tandem of Fitial and Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez garnered 307 out of the total 941 votes cast so far yesterday afternoon, or 33 percent. Babauta and running mate Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente maintained a marginal lead, with 322 votes or 34 percent of the total votes.

Last Tuesday, the online poll showed the Babauta-Benavente team enjoying a comfortable lead by getting 37 percent of the votes cast, which totaled only 682 at that time. The number of votes for the Republican Party candidates totaled 255. At that time, the Fitial-Villagomez tandem garnered only 198 votes for a 29-percent share of the total votes.

In yesterday’s results, Democratic Party candidates Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Santos ranked third with 196 votes, or 21 percent. Independent candidates Heinz Hofschneider and David Apatang tailed behind them by getting 116 votes, or 12 percent of the total number of votes.

The online poll may be accessed at www.cnmipolitics2005.org. The website allows voters to cast unofficial ballots online for all positions from governor, senators and congressmen, mayors and judges, among others. It clarifies, though, that the Commonwealth Election Commission or any political party does not endorse the online poll.

Its home page carries a question: “Who has your vote for Governor of the CNMI?” It also enumerates the four gubernatorial teams vying for the top executive posts as choices for answer.

According to the PSS survey, 39 percent, or 88 voters, “usually support” the Republican Party and its candidates, while 17 percent, or 38 voters, said they support the Democratic Party. Only 15 percent of the respondents, or 34 of those surveyed, said they support the Covenant Party. The other 13 percent, or 29 voters, said they would choose independent candidates. On the other hand, 16 percent, or 36 voters, chose not to answer the question regarding their preferences for political parties.

Thornburgh said 126 voters surveyed were government employees, while 43 work for the private sector. Twenty-five respondents described themselves as retired, while 10 are self-employed and 21 are unemployed.

When asked whether the CNMI is going in the right direction, majority of them, or 162 respondents, answered “no.”

Regarding the governor’s statement that the economy is pretty darn good, 180 of those surveyed said they believe otherwise. Only 34 of the surveyed voters said they believe that the economy is picking up. Eleven said they are still undecided whether the economy is on the rebound or not.

The respondents also said rising fuel costs and the fuel surcharge, unemployment, the budget deficit, and taxes are the most significant concerns that the Commonwealth needs to address right now.

When asked about their current financial stability, 57 percent of the people surveyed said they feel worse now than before, 28 percent said they are better off now, while 15 percent of them were undecided. (Marconi Calindas
And John Ravelo)