The Great Debaters

In a matter of hours, the eight senatorial candidates vying for two seats to represent the municipality of Saipan, will face off for the first time this campaign season. This evening, the Chamber of Commerce will showcase one of two Great Debates. The other being tomorrow for the gubernatorial candidates.

This evening, Senate President Pete P. Reyes and Rep. Ralph Torres of the Republican Party will join the Covenant Party hopefuls of former representatives Ana Teregeyo and Jacinta Kaipat; Rep. Justo Quitugua of the Democratic Party and the independent candidates, Gregorio Cruz, Paul Camacho and Rep. Tina Sablan.

CLW is anticipating a good turnout this evening. We will post details of the debate as soon as they become available. Tonight's event may very well alter current street polls indicating Rep. Tina Sablan and Deputy Secretary of Labor Jacinta Kaipat as the frontrunners for the two seats up for grabs. Rep. Ralph Torres, Sen. Pete Reyes and Rep. Justo Quitugua are currently neck and neck following the top two on the leader board.

Calling out Heinz

Information technology has impacted the political arena as evidenced in the emergence of active campaign websites, myspace and facebook social networks. All but independent gubernatorial candidate Ramon S. Guerrero have launched such sites in the past few months.

The launching of their informational sites provides much advantage in providing the electorate with an in-depth analysis of each tandems platforms and biographical background -- except for one team.

That leads us to issue a public challenge to the tandem of Heinz S. Hofschneider and Arnold I. Palacios. While the public is appreciative of having the opportunity to view the Heinz/Arnold platform, the public is also interested in the candidates' professional and educational background. Thus, the public will have a clearer understanding as to whether the candidates themselves are qualified enough to carry out the golden promises of a better tomorrow.

Of the three tandems' websites, the bio-data of the Juan Pan/Joe Camacho and the Benigno Fitial/Eloy Inos teams are readily available. However, a search on the Heinz/Arnold website fails to produce a bio-data outlining the professional and educational background of the duo. Since the Heinz/Arnold tandem portrays themselves as advocates of an open government, the public challenges the duo to release their professional and educational background immediately.

Let it all out, no hidden agendas!

And then they are 4

With the GOP Primary Election done, the FAB 5 gubernatorial tandems have now decreased to the Fantastic 4. Let's take a look that the remaining tandems set to battle it out in November:

1. Gov. Benigno Fitial & Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos (Covenant)
This is the team to beat in the name of continuity. The Covenant duo is banking that their unpopular policies to curtail deficit spending will be taken into consideration as their undeterred efforts to resurrect our economy while establishing a more fiscally responsible government. Their strength is clearly experience and expertise. Gov. Fitial is a seasoned business-minded leader with experience in both the legislative and executive branches of government. Lt. Gov. Inos is touted as a financial expert and has been at the forefront of this administration's quest to reduced government spending in his prior role as the Secretary of Finance.

2. Rep. Heinz Hofschneider/Rep. Arnold Palacios (Republican)
Stamina is upbeat in this tandem freshly coming off a 396-vote victory over the other GOP tandem of former governor Juan N. Babauta & board of education member Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero. The task for this team now is to ensure that the unity accord between the two camps can carry on to the general election. This is a good time to heal the wounds between the supporters and to ensure that there really is a unified party.

3. Juan "Pan" Guerrero & Rep. Joseph Camacho (Independent)
The earliest of the gubernatorial teams to launch their campaigns, the Juan Pan camp has been hard at work trying to garner the support of the vast majority. They are the only crossover team so far as Juan Pan is a former Democratic Party senator and Joe Camacho is currently serving his term as House Floor Leader under the Republican Party. It remains to be seen whether this 2-party union is a recipe for victory or defeat. Juan Pan is the current chairman of the Retirement Fund Board of Trustees and is at the forefront of the Fund's recent lawsuit against the government.

4. Ramon "Kumoi" Guerrero & David Borja (Independent)
The tandem of this former senator and former education commissioner are probably the most silent of the four, but they were the first to troop to the Commonwealth Election Commission yesterday to file their candidacy for the Commonwealth's top posts. Not much is known yet from this tandem, but it is somewhat evident that they will have an emphasis on education given that Mr. Borja is a former educator and education commissioner. It'll be interesting to see what develops in the coming months from this team.

Let's get ready to rumble!

The election season here in the Northern Mariana Islands is heating up again. If you know us at Livewire, then you'll know we'll be there every step of the way.

CNMI Livewire is back online and in full force with a well-equipped team that will cover the 2009 campaign season and general election coverage. So if you haven't already, bookmark our page and keep staying informed before decision day arrives.

THE FAB 5!

At this point, five tandems have declared their intention to lead this great Commonwealth into the next for years.

1. The Covenant Party Incumbents
Governor Benigno R. Fitial/Lt. Governor Eloy S. Inos

2. The Republican Party Primary-cans will face off on June 27th
Former Gov. Juan N. Babauta/BOE Member Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero
Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider/Speaker Arnold I. Palacios

3. The Inde-PAN-dent Democrat & Republican
Retirement Fund Board Chair Juan T. Guerrero/House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho

4. The other Independent
Former Sen. Ramon Guerrero/David Borja

Let the games begin!