HS teacher, Davis, joins delegate race

An eighth candidate has formally filed his bid for congressional delegate.

John Davis, a high school teacher and a Vietnam War veteran, filed paperwork with the Commonwealth Election Commission yesterday. He is running as an independent candidate.

He will face at least seven opponents in the increasingly crowded race to become the Northern Marianas’ first-ever non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Davis promises to bring integrity into the federal office. He also vows to deviate from the traditional kind of politics, which, he says, got the Commonwealth into its current economic crisis.

“The same people who put us in this predicament are the same people who want to go and represent us in Washington. I think enough is enough. We need someone who will fight for the CNMI, not for their own pocketbooks or for their own prestige or glory,” said Davis, who moved from the mainland United States to Saipan 22 years ago to help with the opening of the Commonwealth Health Center.

If elected delegate, Davis said, he will push for efforts to make the Commonwealth more self-sufficient, rather than dependent on federal handouts and foreign investors, “who take more money out than they ever bring in.”

He also said he will run his campaign differently from traditional politicians. “I’m not going to pay for any picnic tables or tents. I’m not going to get votes by paying for somebody’s hospital bills or any of that nonsense. There won’t be any people standing out on the side of the road, impeding traffic and getting in the way. And I will not be putting up those billboards that make our island ugly every time we have an election. Just name recognition isn’t going to be enough this time. The candidates, as far as I’m concerned, will have to address the needs of the people of the CNMI. I’m going to talk to people as much as possible,” he said.

The other candidates running for delegate are Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio of the NMI Republican Party, former Sen. David Cing of the NMI Democratic Party, television talk show host John Oliver Gonzales, retired Judge Juan Lizama, businessman Chong Won,, former Election Commission executive director Gregorio “Kilili” Sablan, and Sen. Luis Crisostimo.

The Election Commission will accept candidacy documents until 4:30pm tomorrow, Aug. 6, 2008. The election is on Nov. 4, 2008.