PERSONAL BACKGROUND<\/p>\n
Spouse: Antonia Masga Tudela
\nChildren: Nine (7 daughters and 2 sons)<\/p>\n
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND<\/p>\n
49-49 Saipan Elementary School<\/p>\n
1949-50: St. Frances School, Yo\u00f1a, Guam<\/p>\n
53-53 Father Due\u00f1as Memorial High School, Guam<\/p>\n
55-55\tUniversity of Oklahoma, Extension Courses<\/p>\n
Dale Carnegie Courses (Management)<\/p>\n
ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICE<\/p>\n
2002-Present: Mayor of Saipan<\/p>\n
1989-90: Chairman, CNMI Board of Education<\/p>\n
1989-1992: Board of Regents\u2014Northern Marianas College (NMC)<\/p>\n
n *Vice-Chairman<\/p>\n
1992-1992: Board of Education (first elected board member)<\/p>\n
1985-1985: 4th Commonwealth Legislature, Vice-Speaker<\/p>\n
3rd Commonwealth Legislature, Vice-Chairman, HEW Committee<\/p>\n
76-76\tCommissioner of Garapan Village District # 11<\/p>\n
-*Chief Commissioner of Commissioners in Saipan<\/p>\n
GOVERNMENT SERVICE<\/p>\n
1997-1997: CNMI-Resident Executive, Indigenous Affairs Office<\/p>\n
1981-1981: CNMI-Procurement and Supply\u2014Purchasing & Procurement Officer & Specialist II<\/p>\n
1978-1978: CNMI-District Supply Officer<\/p>\n
1969-1969: NTTU-Procurement and Supply<\/p>\n
1968-1968: TTPI- Treasury Division, Finance<\/p>\n
1967-1967: TTPI-Procurement and Supply\u2014Senior Clerk & Stock Control<\/p>\n
1962-1962: NTTU-Security Office\u2014Messenger & Guard<\/p>\n
NTTU-Special Services Office\u2014Clerk Typist & Office Manager<\/p>\n
NTTU-Post Office Manager & Librarian<\/p>\n
COMMUNITY SERVICES<\/p>\n
Chairman, Liberation Day<\/p>\n
Vice-Chairman, Liberation Day<\/p>\n
Chairman, Liberation Day Queens Committee<\/p>\n
Vice-Chairman, Liberation Day Queen\u2019s Committee<\/p>\n
1995-Present: Knights of Columbus 4th Degree\u2014District Warden<\/p>\n
1997-1997: Vice-President, PTA (Marianas High School)<\/p>\n
1996-1996: President, PTA (Marianas High School)<\/p>\n
1994-1994: President, PTA (Garapan Elementary School)<\/p>\n
1992-1992: President, PTA Council<\/p>\n
1980-1980: Chairman, Head Start Policy Council<\/p>\n
Board of Directors, CAA member<\/p>\n
1975-1975: Board Member, Planning Health Council<\/p>\n
1973-1973: Chairman, Boy Scouts of America Troop in Garapan<\/p>\n
Q. What would you consider the top three issues or concerns facing the CNMI that demand immediate action from our government leaders?<\/p>\n
A. First is the economy. Japan Airlines is leaving Saipan, Continental is cutting flights and laying off 100 workers here, Northwest has declared bankruptcy, and the garment industry, which filled the gap since the Asian recession started in 1997 until now, has begun to leave Saipan. As the mayor of Saipan, I must say that reduced government revenues will affect the municipal government as we struggle to continue the delivery of public services to the people.<\/p>\n
Second, is the rising cost of fuel, which comes at a time when revenues are declining. We must look to alternative energy, such as solar power, which is free and abundant, to cut utility costs. A solar water heater, for example, can cut your monthly power bill by 30 percent.<\/p>\n
Third, we need to develop an attractive program for local students attending schools abroad (academic and vocational) to entice them to come back home to get the kind of jobs they are trained to do with competitive salary\/wages and to help revitalize the economy.<\/p>\n
Q. What ideas can you bring to the table to revive the CNMI economy?<\/p>\n
A. As the mayor of Saipan, I proposed at a CNMI-Interior sponsored investment seminar in Japan two years ago that we provide incentives for investors to build a 1) convention center, 2) retirement or \u201csilver communities\u201d to take advantage of the CNMI\u2019s special retirement visa program, and 3) a cultural center. All of these projects are eligible to receive special tax breaks or CDA qualifying certificates. In addition, we can also support our sister islands\u2019 desire to develop, such as inviting the military to exercise its option to build a base on Tinian, as well as Rota\u2019s and the Northern Islands\u2019 efforts to attract investors.<\/p>\n
Q. What is your vision for the Commonwealth and Tinian? And what are the steps that must be taken to achieve that vision?<\/p>\n
A. I believe that the CNMI\u2019s excellent location as the closest part of America to Asia makes our island a very attractive international meeting place and a place where any investor must seriously consider. To achieve this vision, we must follow through on our \u201cstrategic economic development plans\u201d that include offering incentives to airlines to increase service to Saipan, attracting more tourists from Japan, Korea, China, and elsewhere, and providing tax incentives to long-term investors. This vision can only be achieved if our entire government can work together as a team to improve the \u201cbusiness-friendly\u201d environment that is sorely needed not only to attract investors, but also to keep old investors from leaving, which has now become a serious problem.<\/p>\n
Q. What needs to be changed in people\u2019s ways of thinking and doing things as a means to help you achieve your vision?<\/p>\n
A. We need to make our visitors and investors feel they have done the right thing by coming to Saipan. Otherwise, we all lose. While I support more schools for Saipan, the news yesterday that PSS wants to build a school on land occupied by one of our oldest investors, the Marianas Resort in Marpi, will scare away any investor. We must change our way of thinking about how we approach all these issues, otherwise we will \u201ckill the goose that lays the golden egg,\u201d which is the tax base that supports our schools, hospitals, and the entire government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Personal Background…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}