Former Saipan senator Thomas P. Villagomez is no longer a member of the Com-monwealth Ports Authority board, of which he has been a member since 2008. <\/p>\n
CPA board chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds said in an interview last Friday that Villago-mez\u2019s term as a director had already expired.<\/p>\n
Villagomez, who used to chair the board\u2019s committee on financial affairs, was not present during Friday\u2019s board meeting. He was also not present during the board\u2019s special meeting last May 3 on Tinian, where the 40-year $21.9 million worth of lease agreement for the divert airfield was signed.<\/p>\n
When asked about Villagomez\u2019s absence last Friday, King-Hinds said there was a memorandum about the terms of the CPA board members.<\/p>\n
King-Hinds said there was an opinion from Gov. Ralph DLG Torres\u2019 legal counsel, who determined that the slot that Villagomez was occupying as a board member actually already expired.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy statute, our terms begin in October. I guess they went back and traced it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
King-Hinds, however, stated that Villagomez will probably be re-appointed to the board.<\/p>\n
In the interim, vice chair Roman Tudela Sr. is the head of the board\u2019s financial affairs committee that Villagomez used to chair. <\/p>\n
Villagomez served as acting board chairman for several months when then-chair Jose R. Lifoifoi went on medical and personal leave. <\/p>\n
Villagomez was first appointed to the board in 2008 by then-governor Benigno R. Fitial. In 2013, the late governor Eloy S. Inos reappointed him to the board, with Gov. Ralph Torres reappointing him to the post in June 2017.<\/p>\n
Aside from King-Hinds and Tudela, the other board members are former senator Pete Reyes, Barrie C. Toves, and Joseph Diaz. Two board positions are vacant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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