Editorial: Independent Identity (Part 2)

(continuation)

2. DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Party dissention is also plaguing the much weakened Democratic Party. In recent years, the Democrats --- once dominant in the infantile stages of politcal history --- have not been able to field a complete nor near-complete slate of candidates for election.

A look back at history reveals different periods of a "party split" in the democrats. The earliest notable one was the division of the camps of former governor Carlos Camacho and that of former governor Froilan Tenorio. Then there was the major split of then governor Froilan C. Tenorio and his lt. governor Jesus C. Borja. After Tenorio announced that he will not seek re-election, Borja announced his gubernatorial bid and became the Democratic Party's standard bearer. Shortly thereafter, Tenorio changed his mind and announced he wanted to seek re-election. With Borja along with Benigno Sablan already secured as the Democratic ticket, Tenorio divided the party again when he founded the Reform Party. The division caused the defeat of the Democratic Party administration and returned the executive branch to the Republican Party.

Now, they're at it again. Incumbent senator Luis P. Crisostimo (D-Saipan) was ousted by party officials when he sought the party's nomination for re-election. Instead, the democrats will field former party chairman, Gabriel C. Babauta as its senatorial candidate for the municipality of Saipan. Thus, Sen. Crisostimo has launched his candidacy for re-election as an independent candidate -- further increasing the number of independent candidates.

In related news, former representative Dino M. Jones has retracted his bid for a House seat. Earlier, Jones announced that he would be seeking a House seat under the Democratic Party for precinct 4. However, Jones now says he's opting out of the race to concentrate on his family and their business affairs.