Polite banter marks gubernatorial debate

This year’s four gubernatorial hopefuls engaged in a well-attended, three-hour debate Wednesday evening, outlining their positions on pertinent issues and occasionally throwing snide remarks against each other that were nonetheless markedly civil.

The candidates—incumbent Gov. Juan N. Babauta of the Republican Party, House Speaker Benigno Fitial of the Covenant Party, former Gov. Froilan Tenorio of the Democratic Party, and independent candidate Rep. Heinz Hofschneider—tried to gain favor with the 500-strong audience at the World Resort Saipan’s Diamond Hall.

The debate, sponsored by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, was the first and only event this election season where all four candidates were seen together.

From 7pm to 10pm, each of the candidates answered 10 random questions on the economy, environment, ethics, education, infrastructure, health care, and federal relations.

Moderator Jon Anderson, president of Sorensen Pacific Broadcasting, started the debate with a question on education: “What can be done to improve our public school system?”

Fitial expressed intent to scrap the Governor’s Education Initiative and return the entire education system under full jurisdiction of the Board of Education and the State Board of Regents “where they rightfully belong.”

Tenorio said he would put a qualified teacher in every classroom, but he did not have the chance to elaborate.

Babauta, who established the Governor’s Education Initiative, defended his program and said it had been proven to work by the academic performance of students at Saipan Southern High School—the “laboratory school” for the project. He bared plans to expand the program to other schools. He also said the program does not aim to interfere with the functions of PSS and the Northern Marianas College; it seeks to make funds “available to experts who know best.”

Hofschneider said the government simply needed to “go back to basics” in approaching education. “What good is a laptop if our kids are poor in reading, writing and arithmetic? Stop the frills,” he said.

The question on economy revolved around the garment industry’s situation. Specifically, candidates were asked what other types of industry they plan to replace the textile industry with and what they would do with the displaced workers.

Tenorio promised to diversify the tourism industry. He also vowed to make the Commonwealth more business friendly and criticized Babauta for his alleged “anti-business” attitude toward Verizon’s purchase deal.

Babauta described the question as hypothetical, saying that actions have already been taken to stop the decline of the garment industry. Nevertheless, he said the CNMI economy could benefit from the establishment of high-end service centers and a stronger tourism industry.

Hofschneider said the Commonwealth’s economic problem would be solved if the government could restore the trust of the business community.

Fitial said a government under his leadership would bring various types of new investments into the CNMI—from telecommunications and microchip processing to leather goods manufacturing and call centers.

The candidates also sketched out their plans on other issues:

* On the power plant privatization, all agreed that it is not a good idea at present. Babauta cited as reason the improvements already done to the power plant under the state of emergency declaration; Hofschneider expressed concern about the rate increase that privatization would entail; Fitial said the power crisis was a result of mismanagement on the part of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and it could not be solved by privatization; and Tenorio said he supported the general idea of privatizing the power plant, but he disagreed with the manner the current administration has “rushed” through the process.

* On the government employees’ misuse of public vehicles, all agreed that it could be curbed through stricter law enforcement. A banter between Tenorio and Babauta over American luxury vehicles bought by the Governor’s Office during Tenorio’s term stirred laughter among the crowd.

* On federal relations, Babauta boasted that the CNMI’s relationship with the federal government had never been better. He attributed this to the professional manner in which his administration has dealt with federal officials, as well as his connections in the Republican-led federal government. Fitial said he himself had close connections with the Bush administration, pledging allegiance to the principles of the National Republican Party. Tenorio said that each territory would get federal funding based on its population, not politics or the kinds of connections its leaders have in the White House. Hofschneider said the CNMI should allow the Washington representative to be its true mouthpiece in Washington; he also disputed Babauta’s claim that the current administration brought home the largest amount of federal funding in CNMI history.

Questions were also asked on diabetes, the wastewater system, restrictions on land ownership, solid waste, and scholarship grants.