June 6, 2009
Congratulations to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan on his Inauguration Day! On this historical day, he will become the only Chamorro in the 111st Congress and the first delegate from the CNMI elected to the U.S. Congress. With the passage of PL 110-229 on May 8, 2008, the CNMI was granted the position of a non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Sablan will be a member of the Democratic Caucus.
The inauguration will take place in the Rayburn Room in a ceremony where Mr. Sablan will be sworn in by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a very cold and rainy day in Washington, DC. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to attend. Mr. Sablan will be sworn in using a Bible from the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa that was blessed Bishop Tomas A. Camacho. Mr. Sablan was quoted in the Saipan Tribune:
"By taking my oath on this Holy Book I feel that I am bringing to Congress the prayers and hopes of the people of the Northern Marianas for an improved relationship between the Northern Marianas and the rest of the United States," Sablan said.
In addition to the prayers embodied in the Bible, Sablan asked for the "continued prayers of the people of the Northern Marianas. We are embarking on a new level of participation in our national government, one that should open to us more of the benefits of our permanent relationship with the United States."
Soon to be Delegate Sablan announced a competent and experienced Washington, DC staff. From the Saipan Tribune:
Bob Schwalbach will be Sablan's Chief of Staff. Schwalbach, who worked for the CNMI government for two decades, served as congressional liaison in the Resident Representative's office for 12 years. He also worked as senior policy advisor for Gov. Juan N. Babauta and as staff to the Natural Resources and Commerce committees in the 6th Northern Marianas House of Representatives. Schwalbach, a theater studies graduate from Harvard University, first worked with Sablan in the 1980s in the NMI Legislature.The Saipan staff was also announced:
Arin Greenwood has been selected as Sablan's Senior Legislative Assistant and Communications Director. Greenwood, a former CNMI Assistant Attorney General, first worked with Sablan when she represented the Commonwealth Election Commission during the time Sablan was Executive Director. Prior to working as an Assistant Attorney General, she served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan of the Commonwealth Supreme Court. Greenwood, who also worked as an administrative judge for the Marianas' first ever refugee protection program, will focus on immigration as one of her responsibilities as Senior Legislative Assistant. Greenwood is currently a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank. During her time there she has written about insurance, immigration and online gambling. As a freelance journalist and writer, she has written for many publications including Slate, the Washington CityPaper and the American Bar Association Journal. She received her B.A. in philosophy from Oberlin College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Becky Cruz Lizama, a recent graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, will serve as a Legislative Assistant in Sablan's congressional office, where she will work on environmental and natural resource issues.
Rose Cruz McDermott will be in charge of overall office operations on Capitol Hill and manage the Delegate's schedule. McDermott has worked for the CNMI Resident Representative since 1992.
Peter Michael Tenorio has been named Sablan's district director. He will be responsible for constituent issues as they arise in the CNMI and advise Sablan on issues facing people of the Commonwealth.
Tenorio was chairman of Sablan's kilili08 campaign committee. He was a member of the 10th Commonwealth Legislature, during which he was chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Tourism.
Viola Alepuyo will act as part-time legal counsel to Sablan. In order to continue her work in private practice in the CNMI, Alepuyo will be limited to matters in which the federal government has no interest or involvement. Alepuyo, who received her B.A. in Women's Studies from Washington State University and her J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law, is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Shield.
Best wishes for a successful, fulfilling term.
6 comments:
Sablan is a NON-VOTING member, completely useless and only window dressing.
US Taxpayers need to be made aware of this total complete waste of their money. While there are taxpayers who cannot pay their mortgages, we are paying these Chamorros A LOT of money to do absolutely nothing. Oh wait, taxpayers have been doing that for the last 60 years!
You are wrong in saying that a non-voting delegate is useless. (Even though I believe every territory should have a voting delegate.) I have seen the power that delegates such as Delegate Christensen and Delegate Bordallo wield in committees, especially the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs. The voting delegates on this committee usually yield to the non-voting delegates that represent the territories.
It is not a waste of money. They have a voice and are influential in representing the best interests of their respective territories.
Congratulations, Kilili!
Great start with your personnel choices.
Certainly non-voting delegates can do a certain amount of good. The important question, it seems to me, is whether the limited amount of good they can do outweighs the considerable harm they also do by creating the impression of equal democratic representation and participation, in the absence of the reality.
Obama should immediately be notified that US Taxpayers are footing the bill for this. Let's see, a non voting congressman, (same as Pete A., only a lot more expensive, a lawyer (Greenwood fell victim to an online scam, mind you she IS a lawyer, just not very bright) and various other completely useless people with absolutely no qualifications for the job whatsoever. Shut it down now.
Correct is the illusion that we have a vote in the colonies. The bill that kills our economy was rammed through by others that should have worked for us. The other colonies haven't accomplished much for development in their islands. So take it away from the CNMI.
Post a Comment