Tina Sablan replaces Propst as House minority leader

Members of the House of Representatives minority bloc have unanimously elected Rep. Christina Sablan (D-Saipan) to be the minority leader, a position that was left vacant when Edwin K. Propst resigned last Oct. 1.

Reps. Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan), Sheila Babauta (D-Saipan), Donald Manglona (Ind-Rota), and Richard Lizama (D-Saipan) chose Sablan to serve as minority leader for the remaining term of the 21st House. The 22nd Legislature will be sworn-in in January 2021.

The minority bloc yesterday informed House Speaker Blas Jonathan T. Attao (R-Saipan) about Sablan’s election.

The minority lawmakers made the decision during a breakfast meeting outside of the Legislature last Thursday.

Sablan told Saipan Tribune yesterday that aside from discussing the minority leadership positions, they also talked about how to address the pending vacancy in Precinct 1, which Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has yet to fill as required by law and the constitution.

“We needed to discuss pending work to be completed in this term, including our report on the governor’s expenditures, and begin planning for the next term,” Sablan said.

Sablan was the top vote-getter in the race for House Precinct 2 based on the Commonwealth Election Commission’s unofficial tabulation results.

Last Thursday, Sablan and the four other minority bloc members urged Torres to follow the law by appointing former Department of Public Safety official Franklin R. Babauta immediately to replace Propst as a representative for Precinct 1.

The lawmakers said in a letter to Torres that under the law, he should have filled the resulting House vacancy on or before last Oct. 31.

The lawmakers said the governor is required to appoint Babauta, who was the unsuccessful candidate for the office in the 2018 election who received the highest number of votes.

The lawmakers said the people of Precinct 1 have been underrepresented in the House since the resignation of Propst.

Attao recently notified the governor about his declaration of a vacancy at Precinct 1 with the resignation of Propst.

Press secretary Kevin Bautista earlier stated that in line with Article II, Section 9 of the CNMI Constitution and with respect for the separation of powers between two equal branches of government, Torres waited for a vacancy to be officially declared by Attao before acting on the appointment.

“Moreover, in line with 1 CMC Section 6502 and historical precedent with other legislative vacancies, the governor has 30 days from the date of the declared vacancy to appoint the unsuccessful candidate for the office,” Bautista said.

Propst’s term was supposed to end on Jan. 11, 2021.
Even without campaigning, Propst received the highest number of votes among 14 candidates for Precinct 1 in last week’s election based on the Commonwealth Election Commission’s unofficial tabulation results.