Page 18 - IB December 2022

CNMI CNMI

ISSUE: December 2022
PAGE: 18-19
SLUG: CNMI
HED: CNMI ELECTS FIRST INDEPENDENT GOVERNOR, LT GOVERNOR
SUBHED:
BYLINE: By K-Andrea Evarose S. Limol (Variety News Staff)

WORDCOUNT: 656
IMAGES:
(Independent, Democratic gubernatorial tandems.jpg)

(Republican gubernatorial tandem.jpg)

From left, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, Independent Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Second Lady Wella S. Palacios pose for a photo with
Democratic gubernatorial candidates, Rep. Christina Marie E. Sablan and Rep. Leila Haveia F.C. Staffler. After finishing third in the three-way
gubernatorial race, Sablan and Staffler endorsed Palacios and Apatang, who will become the CNMI’s next governor and lt. governor. (Photo by
K-Andrea Evarose S. Limol)

CNMI ELECTS FIRST INDEPENDENT

GOVERNOR, LT. GOVERNOR

By K-Andrea Evarose S. Limol (Variety News Staff) humbled us with your votes of confidence. One by one, you
made your voices clear when you cast your ballots for new
This January, the Northern Mariana Islands will welcome its leadership in the House of Representatives, in the Senate,
first independent governor and lieutenant governor, after a and in the Executive Branch. Two weeks later, you humbled
heated gubernatorial runoff election between Governor Ralph us again in the runoff election when we became your Gover-
DLG Torres and his former running mate, Lieutenant Governor nor-Elect and Lieutenant Governor-Elect,” the independent
Arnold I. Palacios. tandem said after their victory.
Palacios, a former Republican, ran as an Independent with They added, “We are ready to answer the call of our people
Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, while Torres ran as an incum- and we will honour the trust you bestowed upon us. Now the
bent Republican with Senate Floor Leader Vinson F. Sablan. In real work begins. Just as we needed your vote on Election
the previous two gubernatorial runoff elections in 2009 and Day, we need your voice and your service to our community
2014, the incumbent governor won. these next four years. In the weeks ahead, our team will work
Running on the platform of “rebuilding trust” in the local with the current administration to ensure a smooth transition
government, the Independents defeated their opponents by that will enable us to hit the ground running when we take
1,118 votes, or roughly 8.25% of the total ballots cast. The re- office on January 9, 2023.
maining absentee ballots were counted by the Commonwealth “We humbly ask the people in our Commonwealth to
Election Commission on Friday, December 9. join us. We’ve seen what happens when we work together.
“On November 8, the people of our great Commonwealth Every house needs a solid foundation, and the bedrock of

18 Islands Business, December 2022