January 4, 2009
On January 6, 2009 Gregorio "Kilili" Camacho Sablan will make history when he is sworn in as the CNMI's first non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The CNMI was the last U.S. territory to get congressional representation. The delegate-elect will be the only Chamorro represented in the U.S. House of Representatives. I wish him a successful term, and I hope to visit him on one of my trips to Washington, DC.
There is much controversy over the fact that Delegate-elect Sablan has invited Governor Fitial, his wife Josie, and "special counsel" Howard Willens to his inauguration. It certainly is not how many of his supporters thought the delegate-elect would start his term. Word is that there is growing resentment and disappointment coming from several factions in the CNMI. Certainly Kilili is sending a message to the people of the CNMI and to the members of the Obama Administration, U.S. House of Representatives, and the Democratic Caucus that he is excusing, or at least condoning, the corruption, the federal lawsuit, and all that the Fitial Administration represents. There are many people questioning why the delegate-elect has made his first decision one that gives credibility and recognition to the administration who has set the CNMI so far off-course. Perhaps he will respond to the criticism.
Below is an open letter to the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives penned by Ron Hodges that captures the sentiment of the recent buzz.
Chamberonomics 80...absent all honor
by Ron Hodges
To the Members of the US House of Representatives assembled,
The Marianas Islands finally has a legal representative to the US House of Representatives, but that is not to say the CNMI has never been represented in the US House. The CNMI is internationally recognized for human exploitation, smuggling, money laundering, sweatshops, flagrant labor abuse, denying due process, and for successfully bribing numerous members of the US Congress.
Notorious garment factory owner, Willie Tan, bragged on camera that former Speaker Tom Delay (R-TX) was in his pocket, and his puppet promised labor and immigration reform would not be considered. The US has never confronted Tan about it or his other puppet, our Governor, Ben Fitial, who is likely seated with you today. Fitial is currently suing America to keep the status quo of servitude. He may also have his legal counsel, Howard Willens, and perhaps even former garment spokesperson Dick Pierce in the House, as some of these characters recently gave declarations in their private case against America. Governor Fitial’s declaration was particularly comical. Governor Fitial has refused to tell NMi residents and Congress who is funding the case, but some suspect it is the Chinese government through their Korean owned companies closely affiliated with Governor Fitial.
The NMI Congress is incapable and afraid to stand against it.
Our new Rep., Gregorio Sablan, should have quite a crew of nefarious characters surrounding him for such a momentous occasion, as he apparently can’t refuse them tickets to the show. Jack Abramoff deserves a ticket as well, as does former Reps Doolittle and Schaeffer. To be fair, the infamous Saipan Chamber of Commerce should be represented, and we should not omit our slave driving minimum wage reformers, HANMI (Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands), as they should certainly have a seat at the table. Governor Fitial’s Lt. Governor, Tim Villagomez, will not attend unless his ankle bracelet can be severed. Don’t worry about Tim though, he, like the characters seated before you, is still being paid by the NMI.
The Governor, HANMI, and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce effectively lobbied to hang a generation of guest workers here in 2007-08 on the same issue Jack Abramoff handled in previous years.
This is not a sarcastic matter for a political satire page, but a real story and ongoing affair of grave consequence to the reputation of America and in defense of the decent people of the Northern Marianas Islands.
I sincerely thank many members of the new Democratic US Congress, including Rep. Donna Christensen, Rep. George Miller, and many others for taking a huge step to make right, what has long been wrong, and I humbly request the US Congress finish the job. No other shame in US history matches this sordid tale and your actions to end it, will forever be remembered.
Though our economy is crumbling, funding the people running the CNMI can only be called criminal. Federal funding in the past has been redirected away from power, water, and education, to support the interests that have made the Northern Marianas Islands what it is today.
Please have US law enforcement pressure these criminals out of power and restrict funding to the NMI until the job is finished.
To the Members of the US House of Representatives assembled,
The Marianas Islands finally has a legal representative to the US House of Representatives, but that is not to say the CNMI has never been represented in the US House. The CNMI is internationally recognized for human exploitation, smuggling, money laundering, sweatshops, flagrant labor abuse, denying due process, and for successfully bribing numerous members of the US Congress.
Notorious garment factory owner, Willie Tan, bragged on camera that former Speaker Tom Delay (R-TX) was in his pocket, and his puppet promised labor and immigration reform would not be considered. The US has never confronted Tan about it or his other puppet, our Governor, Ben Fitial, who is likely seated with you today. Fitial is currently suing America to keep the status quo of servitude. He may also have his legal counsel, Howard Willens, and perhaps even former garment spokesperson Dick Pierce in the House, as some of these characters recently gave declarations in their private case against America. Governor Fitial’s declaration was particularly comical. Governor Fitial has refused to tell NMi residents and Congress who is funding the case, but some suspect it is the Chinese government through their Korean owned companies closely affiliated with Governor Fitial.
The NMI Congress is incapable and afraid to stand against it.
Our new Rep., Gregorio Sablan, should have quite a crew of nefarious characters surrounding him for such a momentous occasion, as he apparently can’t refuse them tickets to the show. Jack Abramoff deserves a ticket as well, as does former Reps Doolittle and Schaeffer. To be fair, the infamous Saipan Chamber of Commerce should be represented, and we should not omit our slave driving minimum wage reformers, HANMI (Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands), as they should certainly have a seat at the table. Governor Fitial’s Lt. Governor, Tim Villagomez, will not attend unless his ankle bracelet can be severed. Don’t worry about Tim though, he, like the characters seated before you, is still being paid by the NMI.
The Governor, HANMI, and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce effectively lobbied to hang a generation of guest workers here in 2007-08 on the same issue Jack Abramoff handled in previous years.
This is not a sarcastic matter for a political satire page, but a real story and ongoing affair of grave consequence to the reputation of America and in defense of the decent people of the Northern Marianas Islands.
I sincerely thank many members of the new Democratic US Congress, including Rep. Donna Christensen, Rep. George Miller, and many others for taking a huge step to make right, what has long been wrong, and I humbly request the US Congress finish the job. No other shame in US history matches this sordid tale and your actions to end it, will forever be remembered.
Though our economy is crumbling, funding the people running the CNMI can only be called criminal. Federal funding in the past has been redirected away from power, water, and education, to support the interests that have made the Northern Marianas Islands what it is today.
Please have US law enforcement pressure these criminals out of power and restrict funding to the NMI until the job is finished.
16 comments:
Wikipedia also lists the Gov, Josie and Pete Tenorio as attending the swearing in ceremony. Who is paying for their trips?
A better question is who will serve on his staff?
Actually, Kilili will not be the first Chamorro member of the US Congress.
First of all, he will not be a member of the US Congress. Real members of Congress get to vote, and he will gain great respect (at least from me) if he has the dignity to not call himself one.
If you count non-voting delegates, however, there have already been three Chamorros from Guam in that post: Antonio Won Pat, Vicente Blaz, and Robert Underwood.
Thanks Cactus for the corrections. I will correct that in the post!
As much as I disagree with just about everything that Fitial has done, I can't see a justification to not invite him to the swearing in ceremony. He is (for now) the duly elected Governor of the CNMI, and has not been charged with or convicted of anything. Kilili will have to work with him, and not inviting him would have been correctly seen as a needless snub. If you look at Kilili and his staff, you will find very little evidence that he will mindlessly follow Fitial's policies. Quite the contrary.
Kilili has never claimed to be the first Chamorro member of Congress. However, he is the only Chamorro member of the 111th Congress.
And, yes, Cactus, for over two centuries territorial Delegates each have been a “Member of Congress,” no matter how dissatisfied we are about lack of floor voting privileges. He is a “Congressman” and a “Delegate,” but certainly not a “Representative.”
As for his staff, they have been announced in both newspapers this morning. See, e.g., Kristi Eaton, “Kilili names staff, opens DC office,” Saipan Tribune, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, reprinted in http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=86625&cat=1
Some excerpts concerning the six named staffers:
“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.
“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. . . . [She] will focus on immigration.
“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.
“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.”
To The Actor
Thank you for the update. I will post the link to the newspaper. Looks like a talented and competent staff.
Actor:
Where did you hear that a non-voting delegate can be called a "Member of Congress" but not a "Representative"? You may be right, but I can't find any clear answer. It seems to me that those two terms mean the same thing, and that neither one of them is accurate or appropriate.
The act creating the delegate position uses the term "Delegate in Congress." It also states that the Delegate "shall receive the same compensation, allowances, and benefits as a Member of the House of Representatives." If you get benefits "the same as" as Member's, that means you are not a Member yourself, right?
I may be just hung up on an obscure point of protocol here, but I would still like to know.
The staff looks good, Kilili will be a great delegate. However, I agree inviting Fitial was a major faux pas and sends the wrong message. And why invite Howard Willens, the author of the federal lawsuit?
I stand corrected. Apparently as far back as 1789, there was indeed a distinction made between “Members” and “Delegates.” See 2 U.S.C. § 25 (2006).
Where I may have fallen into error was perhaps in seeing constituent mailings on Guam with the “franking privilege” bearing the postal indicia of a signature and the letters “M.C.”, but I may have confused them with such communications on the mainland.
If I did see them from the Guam Delegate, it was more likely a lax attention to detail by the House Post Office. I may also have seen such loose terminology in the Capitol Hill newspapers, Roll Call and The Hill. But if I did see that, or if it is commonly done in Washington because Delegates are so rare, as we now know, that would be legally incorrect.
Thank you, cactus.
Ron supported Greg for Rep, but I would agree with his comment in the Marianas Variety today, that Kilili should "hide them from the new Democratic leadership".
You can't hide them. A better opening term statement would have been not to invite the governor. What's with inviting Willens? That is inexcusable and he should not have been invited. This gives me an entirely different impression of Kilili. I supported him too, but I question this action.
Who paid for the trips for Gov. Ben, wife Josie, Willens?
Pacifier is right, Ron, you can't hide them, in fact, inviting them is guilty by association. If Greg takes advice from this administration, he will never be elected again.
That's not to mean he will though, perhaps Greg will speak his own mind like Tenorio did to Fitial.
What Kilili did, I think, was invite officials from all three branches of the government. The Chief Justice and Presiding Judge were invited and so was the Senate President and House Speaker.
The fact that they did not attend is one thing but the invitations were extended to them.
One of the news reports say that Kilili invited Ed Pangelinan as the first CNMI Res. Rep. and Pete as the last CNMI Res. Rep. Both were also members of the Marianas Political Status Commission who negotiated the Covenant with the legal assistance of Willens.
I do not think Kilili takes marching orders from any one, let alone Fitial, so it can not be assumed that he does just because he was gracious enough to sent invitations.
I also received an invitation from Kilili but was unable to attend so I prayed for him instead.
I wish Kilili well since his success in Congress is ours as well.
I am sure the last anonymous commenter is right on target.
Some are questioning the amount and source of the money spent for officials to attend (or not attend) and the fact that there were press releases stating the governor was attending and then he did not.
I wish him much success too!
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