Tudela at Obama inauguration

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela will be in attendance as Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20 in Washington D.C.

Tudela will be in the nation’s capital for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which will be held Jan. 17-19 and will stay to watch the inauguration.

Officials are predicting as many as 1.5 million people will watch Obama being sworn in to office.

Tudela said he doesn’t always go to the annual Mayors Conference but wanted to go this year because it will be his last opportunity before his term is up.

Also, the mayor recently returned from conferences in Japan and China where he promoted Saipan as a tourist destination.

“It’s really amazing,” Tudela said. “Nobody knows me, but when I start talking they learn Saipan is the best place for tourists.”

Some outstanding CNMI students have also been invited by the presidential inauguration committee to attend Obama’s swearing in.