Saipan Writer

Saipan notes

2009-12-29T10:57:00.003+10:00

Every November when I write during National Novel Writing Month, I set my stories in the CNMI, and I realize how limited my imagination is. The weather in my stories always seems to be whatever it is at the moment; the environment is always November; etc. So I'm starting a "notes" file where I put in bits and pieces about the current weather of the day, the environmental /seasonal notes, and any other bits.

Today's "headline" news is that they tore down the Round House in San Vicente. Bulldozed out of existence. (Noticed this yesterday on the way home from work.) This was an iconic hangout for the neighborhood teens and a bus stop shelter , as well. They're also surveying the roads and it appears we're in for road widening--newspaper says cross-island road. Wonder if they're going to be paying for the land taken in the road widening.

Loads of tangerines on the trees. Plumeria blooming. Today's weather--sunny, bright white puffy clouds--too many, covering the sky, giving a heavy oppressive feel, but cool breezes.

Another Chance to Help

2009-12-22T09:52:00.003+10:00

In case you missed it--there's another chance to help the families of those who died recently in the tragic shootings at Kannat Tabla.

The Pacific Winds is giving a holiday concert tonight (Tuesday 12/22/2009) at Pacific Islands Club (P.I.C.)-Charley's Cabaret. All proceeds will go to the families of those who died. Cost is just $5 and show starts at 6:30 PM.

A "marketing representative" for the shooting range, who had been a garment worker, went on a shooting spree, killing innocent men and children. This tragedy has so many proportions to it, and it will effect many people for the rest of their lives.

This concert is a small chance to help, to remind us we are still waiting for answers on how and why this could happen, and to share with the families some of the love of the season that they so desperately need to heal.

Building A Community of Workers

2009-12-16T11:42:00.004+10:00

This blog post is a response to a letter in today's Tribune, with the nice (but inapt) headline "Impartial Hiring."

The "logic" (and I use that word loosely) of Jose Hinaro Lim, the letter-writer, would have us tied to cheap, foreign labor forever because that provides greater profits for private businesses. Hidden beneath the very sound idea of hiring based on qualifications is the message that we want our cheap, foreign labor force and should be entitled to keep it, and that federal laws to the contrary are bad. Hidden beneath the rhetoric is the concept that profit is the only consideration that counts.

But greater profits for private businesses is not the sole consideration in building a community; it is not even a preference. What we should be aiming for is a community that is self-supporting. We want a community where equal opportunity exists for everyone. We need a community with wholesome enterprise and a political scheme that respects the civil rights of all, preserves the environment, and provides equal access to justice.

Employers should be careful before embracing the suggestions of Jose Hinaro Lim--to do so could violate our laws and cause employers to face civil and criminal sanctions. In choosing an employee, the first consideration is competence--not MAXIMUM or BEST competence, but identifying all who meet the minimum criteria that are legally needed for the job. (The argument that employers would be forced to hire incompetent employees is nonsense. There is no law that ever requires that.)

Employers do not get to pad the requirements for the job. You can't require two years experience for unskilled work. You can't tailor the requirements to meet just the one candidate you really want to hire. This is what the concepts of job categories and prevailing wages address.

If there are competent lawfully resident workers--regardless of race, ethnicity, or citizenship--these are the people who get the job. It doesn't matter that you may prefer a foreign worker because he's cheaper, or has a better education or more experience. If employers can hire a resident worker who is competent to do the job, then that is what the law requires.

And that makes sense. We want to build the competencies of our own community. We want the income earned to be spent here as much as possible, and not be forwarded out to a foreign country. We want to be able to lure back our youth, when they get educated, with jobs and opportunities here.

So NO, Mr. Lim, it is NOT good for our community to have a policy that employers should be able to hire the best foreign worker for the cheapest price, regardless of the availability of resident workers. That's NOT "impartial." That's a practice that abuses both the local worker and the foreign worker by depressing wages here, and forcing resident people to leave their homes, and takes advantage of poor people who have left their foreign homes and have no political power. That's not "impartial"--it's destructive of our community and perpetrates a system that is not good for workers at all.

Christmas Chorale!!!

2009-12-13T17:22:00.004+10:00

The Friends of the Arts presents a Christmas Chorale on Monday, December 14, 2009 at 7 PM at Charlies' Cabaret, P.I.C.

The price of admission is whatever donation you'd like to make--all proceeds and canned goods to Guma Esperanza. This will be the third show for the volunteer group--the first an ad hoc rehearsal at Duty Free; the second was last week on December 8. Andrea Stafford plays piano to accompany the choir, led by Ruthi Fruit.

I saw the second one and was impressed with the beautiful harmonies and fabulous music. They're performing a Christmas Cantata about the birth of Christ; the music is glorious and the voices equal to the music. The show is really nice.

There will be one more show, but with recorded rather than live piano accompaniment, on December 20 at the American Memorial Park.

Mind-Goggling...

2009-12-10T11:51:00.001+10:00

I'm such a Luddite, but I do like seeing this stuff.

"Where Is Our Great Wall" said

2009-12-04T14:03:00.005+10:00

This excellent comment was buried in one of the threads, and I think it deserves a lot more light of day.

I agree with you Jane regarding the romantisizing of our recent past. I left this island nearly 20 years ago and just recently returned.

I don't even see anything close to the Great Wall or the Pyramids (other than the empty GIG that was once a thriving disco that rivaled anything in the region). The La Fiesta was not dependent on cheap labor and has been empty for years while we had access to cheap labor.

What I did see upon returning has been eye opening and far from anything I would revel in and consider great development and a prosperous economy. I found destroyed reefs and barren lagoons (in comparison to 20+ years ago). I found empty shells of 30 plus garment warehouses. I found empty strip malls. I discovered that around 70% of those I grew up with and went to school out here with no longer live here. They have families elsewhere. I saw that nearly 90% of the waitstaff, front desk clerks, bartenders,etc were guest workers (I was a waiter 25 years ago and my pals were front desk and housekeeping). I noticed that all the Mom and Pop stores that had once been owned by me and my friends Moms and Pops were now owned by foreign investors. Diego's Mart, Pop's Store, Morgans Mini Mart, Carmen Safeway, Tenda Store, Aldan's Gas Station, Farmers Market, etc. Same with the bars and restaurants like Ship Ashore, House of Chang, Chamorro Village, Town & Country, Chamorro House, etc are all replaced with foreign owned businesses. I noticed the streets that used to be filled with Japanese Tourist were now empty. The golf courses designed 20 years ago by Jack Nicolas were now unkempt. The hotels that used to average 90% occupancy now ran at around 50%. The Jets that used to fly between here and Guam are now prop plans. Direct flights to Japan that used to fly in and out 3 times a day down to 2 twice a week.

Where is our great wall? We had none. 30 years ago we could have built something great.

We had geographic edge with Japan only 2 hours away. We had great resorts and golf courses that were maintained and rivaled those in other areas of the pacific. We had relationships with agents and airlines that secured set routes and put us int he position to be the HUB for the Pacific region. We had locally run businesses and local workers at all levels that kept the money in our economy and didn't funnel it all out. We had a solid foundation birthed of the Covenant to maintain all of this and grow to be prosperous.

What happened?

We got greedy and we got led by some terribly short sighted leaders.

Our downfall is not to blamed on federalization of immigration. It is blamed on our own doing. We embraced garment. We spent millions on lobbyist. We exploited foreign labor and used guest workers to replace local labor rather than filling gaps and instead replaced our local workforce. We pulled in foreign businesses at the expense of local entrepreneurship. We doled out public land to foreign investors instead of catering to local investors. Our leaders did this because they could negotiate kickbacks and become middlemen in the schemes. Do land swaps and make millions overnight.

3 days ago the federal government took control of immigration in the CNMI; 27 years ago we destroyed this economy.

December 1, 2009 2:11 PM

I like this comment, not because it starts out by agreeing with me, but because of the specifics. It makes me sad, though, to contemplate the lost opportunities. Still hoping that--yes, we can--make it right.

Some Thoughts on Blog Rules and Comment Moderation

2009-12-04T13:39:00.003+10:00

I don't have my own written site disclaimer or blog rules, although I have given thought to this on numerous occasions and have developed a fairly clear (at least to me) idea of what I'm willing to tolerate and what I will delete.

Recent comments, though, led Greg (and others?) to offer up some unrequested suggestions on how I should deal with my blog.

I've done some more thinking on all of this, and have decided I'm not changing much of anything. I like this "site disclaimer and comment policy" from Whatever. I also found great stuff in this article about spammers and trolls and things the author has learned about comment moderation. It's pretty clear moderation isn't rocket science.

So basically, comments are allowed without preview (unless added to older posts). I reserve the right to delete comments. I'll try to be "fair" about it. Enough said.

Sleeping Beauty Ballet

2009-11-30T16:03:00.002+10:00

I'm selling tickets for the Glushko's Academy of Performing Arts holiday ballet. Yes, Anna Rose is now taking ballet lessons and will be on stage on Fridy and Sunday, along with the other students, and the visiting ballet professionals. On Saturday night, only the professionals will perform.

Sleeping Beauty ballet 7 to 9 PM at the Palms Resort (San Roque).
Friday and Sunday tickets: $15 adult/$10 child (ages 3 to 12)
Saturday tickets: $35 adult/ $15 child (includes 1 cocktail)

The Saturday tickets charmingly announce that there will also be a "ruffle" :-) in case you're interested.

If you are interested in buying a ticket, contact me (leave a message here or via e-mail. See my profile.)

November 28-Day 1 of U.S. Immigration

2009-11-28T20:28:00.002+10:00

It's almost the end of the day. I've been out and about--to the post office, the store, Garapan, now Java Joe's.

Nothing seems any different.

The world did not end with the federalization of the CNMI's immigration. The world did not magically improve either.

We'll have to wait and see how things develop over the next few years. This will be a slow process.

50,000 words

2009-11-27T13:35:00.006+10:00

Okay.

I've written 50,000 words during November 2009. I'm an official "winner" in the NaNoWriMo challenge!

I have a first draft novel and a complete story, although the last 20 pages are just outline. And I will have a lot of work to make this novel into a readable story, because it is very messy with lots of continuity issues.

On the other hand, like my other novels before it, it was great fun writing. My characters revealed surprising things about themselves that I didn't know. They insisted on doing things about which I have no knowledge (so research was required and more is needed). And I experienced the real thrill of writing when I uncovered motivations I didn't know existed, found bits of humor that played out in surprising ways, and even found a use for the timeline in the affirming resolution of the story.

Oh yeah.

I wrote a novel in November. So what did you do this month?

Printer Ribbon

2009-11-25T09:51:00.004+10:00

We can send Howard Willens to Washington, D.C. the minute we hear that the Court has dismissed the initial 2 counts of the case fighting federalization of our CNMI immigration.

But we are helpless to obtain printer ribbon to issue permits to the people here trying to renew their entry permits.

For about 2 weeks now, our office has been hearing how CNMI Immigration doesn't yet have the renewal permits ready because they're still waiting on printer ribbon. Yeah. Right.

NaNoWriMo-A Little Encouragement!

2009-11-25T09:35:00.001+10:00

From InkyGirl:

NaNoWriMo--Elsewhere::Micronesia --heading into week 4

2009-11-24T16:54:00.010+10:00

We have some new names coming up on the Scoreboard! We are writers!

Based on the official tally, we've written 486,000+ words-nearly half a million! If you added in the word counts from those who have not officially set their home region, we'd be over that line!

If you know those who have word counts who have not yet homed with our region, please encourage them to do so.

Guam:

Edit: Photo courtesy of Brian a/k/a Applejuicebri (with edits per request)

Leo Babauta: 82,556
ekatlyte: 72,811 (not homed) EDIT: now homed with us!
Sea Phoenix /Shannon Giel: 42,562
Applejuicebri: 41,322
Cjcarino/ Carlo: 44,300
Lickmydisaster: 41,002
Samwriterchick: 37,463
Twerksie: 13,053
Itchy671: 8,357
Sunne: 5,213 (not homed)
Maddiemaer: 3,842
Roott: 3,379
Pandaluv: 1,638 (not homed)
Tenshi-bozu: 1,180
T_Tell: 337
Patty-watty: 308 (not homed)

Saipan:
Saipanwriter/(me): 45,877
Lisswain/ Lis Swain: 33,083
Anna Passion/Anna Rose DLG: 25,061
Josemango/Joe Race: 17,989
Roseanna/ Roseanna Sablan: 8,537
Darkangel: 1,969
Wheaty2008/Matt Wheat: 1,762

Undisclosed Location:
Aomiles: 36,727
Rice: 7,003
Ahimes: 2,084
Cl832: 001

We are 385/484 in total words.
We are 216/484 in donations.
We are 134/484 in average words per wrimo!

Go Elsewhere::Micronesia writers!

For a look back--where we were last week, see this post.

Five More Years... and other news...and some thoughts.

2009-11-24T08:37:00.004+10:00

1. Fitial is being re-elected Governor of the CNMI. He's ahead by 500+ votes, and it seems unlikely (although not impossible) that the absentee ballots will change the outcome of the run-off election.

My previous post on the elections included these:
2009-11-02 The candidates
2009-11-19 On the Spoils System

2. Fitial's lawsuit has been dismissed. It challenged the federalization of the CNMI's immigration, claiming the Consolidated Natural Resources Act violated the Covenant by infringing the CNMI's right of self-government.

Some of my previous posts on this subject, including analysis of the merits of the lawsuit, are here:
2008-12-17 A brief recap of the pending motions
2009-03-11 On the amicus brief

I want to say bad news (Fitial's re-election), good news (dismissal of the federalization lawsuit), but I am reminded of the Chinese story about tao.

What I see as good is that we had an election and we will have a Governor chosen by more than 50% of the people.

What I see as good is that we have a system of justice where anyone can make their claim and have a judge review it, based on written laws and principles.

Who knows? Perhaps it will take 5 more years of Benigno Fitial for us to learn a bit more about the spoils system and what its harms are.

We will have the same 5 years in transition to U.S. immigration. We'll see how it unfolds.

Candelight Vigil

2009-11-21T17:03:00.001+10:00

You are invited and urged to attend the "Saipan For Peace Candlelight Vigil" for the victims of yesterday's horrific shootings.

This event is to be held this Sunday (tomorrow) at 6PM, tentatively at American Memorial Park (if the location changes I will post an update).

It is an ecumenical and multi-cultural event of various faith-based and community coalitions and all are invited. This needed event is non-political and spiritual leaders of all religions have been invited to speak.

The healing begins as soon as possible for as many as possible. Join us to denounce this violence coming to our paradise. Evil has no border, but together, as a movement of "one voice, one people," we can affirm that it is not welcome here.

Please join all of Saipan as we hold the victims, their families, and our community in thoughts and prayers.

The News in Saipan--Condolences

2009-11-20T15:20:00.008+10:00

Edits (saturday): For a more reliable and detailed account, see the Saipan Tribune, Saturday edition.

Edits based on 6 PM news.

My condolences to the families of those who were killed today.

In Saipan, we're so used to safety that we are completely thrown off course by unexpected and unprecedented violence. Today we had a random shooting spree, in Saipan.

This blog post is cobbled together from bits and pieces. Some is confirmed, some is just reports coming in from talk.

At least one man shot several people, including a 5 year old child, in Kannat Tabla; and at least one or more died. The news also includes the death of a 2 year old child, and an adult male.

There is also an unconfirmed report of a shooting at Herman's Bakery, where a Korean man was shot in the leg or foot by a drive by shooter. No mention of this at all on the news.

At least one man shot several Korean tourists at Banzai Cliff and also may have been shooting at the Last Command Post and further north and then turned the gun on himself and shot himself. Confirmed.

It is believed that the shooter in all cases is the same man; Governor Fitial said in a radio statement that the man is believed to have been an employee of the Kannat Tabla Shooting Range, and a Chinese national.

The reports I've heard have varied--from five shot to nine shot to eighteen shot; from one dead, to five dead, to 10 dead. Still discrepancies--the Tribune says 5 dead, 8 shot; the 6 PM news says 5 dead, a total of 12 shot (including the shooter).

The first name I've heard is connected to the 5 year old--a child of Jenn Celis (grandson of Attilong and Phil; nephew to Keiko del Rosario). Possibly also shot Enrique Naputi and DELETED (obviously inaccurate) and their child (There's a report that two adults have died--confirmed.)

We're still waiting to hear more on this entire incident.

The report of the shooting spread quickly; well-perhaps not. The news reports the shootings as happening "in the morning." By about 1:20 P.M. the schools went into lockdown and parents were called to come and get their students. The early reports suggested that a gang of Chinese were the shooters. The governor was on the radio about 2:00 or 2:15 PM reporting that it was believed to be just one man and that the shooter had killed himself.

KSPN news flash here.

This is a very sad incident. I sincerely feel for all who have suffered. My condolences.

EDITED: 5 dead, 8 more shot, according to the Tribune.

Has the Spoils System Spoiled the CNMI?

2009-11-19T17:47:00.009+10:00

"...to the victor belong the spoils..."
William L. Marcy

The CNMI electorate has its eyes on the coming run-off gubernatorial election, set for November 23, 2009. But before we vote, I think we need to step back and take a longer view of issues, of where we've been and where we're going.

I look back on the elections I've participated in--every one since 1985--and see a disturbing trend. Party politics has something to do with this, but not everything. Politicians switch parties enough to make me think that it is not the parties that decide the course of the government, but the politicians themselves.

The trend I see is away from a government that has room for selection and advancement based on merit and toward a government that rewards campaign supporters. It seems less likely now that we will, for example, have another personal secretary who serves for decades successive governors of different parties or different factions within the parties. It seems less likely now that we will have continuity among any of the upper- or even mid-level management government officials in any government office or department.

We have a small pool of talent to begin with, because of our size, and the practice of our various political winners drawing their political appointees and new hires from among their supporters means that only a portion of our small talent pool is available to any one administration.

When a political party comes to power, its leaders tend to place many of their faithful followers into important public offices. The use of public offices as rewards for political party work is known as the "Spoils System."
U.S. History.com

The Spoils System has been seen around the world and throughout time. It has been problematic in the U.S. at times, too, especially in the 19th century, when the U.S. fell far behind other nations in civil service standards of ability and government administration. It has been addressed in large part in the federal government by the Civil Service laws.

In the CNMI, we use the Spoils System. Although we have a civil service system, we have so many jobs of all kinds that are "contract" or "excepted service" that our civil service system does not protect us against the Spoils System.

One of the first political expressions I heard when I got here was the saying: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." It was applied to the employee who had a political job in one administration and then lost it in the next. The person who made the comment was rather amused about the gamesmanship of politics.

The Spoils System in the CNMI is reinforced with the immediate profit of close family members being among the rewarded. They then vote again for their meal ticket.

What is wrong with this concept? Why wouldn't you vote for the politician who is going to give you something back, something like a job for you or your family? What is the harm in using the Spoils System?

I've got some thoughts on that subject.

* The Spoils System narrows the talent pool so that we don't have enough qualified individuals in jobs that are important. What do you do when the loyal supporter isn't getting the job done? Do you replace him with the most qualified person? Or do you ignore the problem and wait until he returns to work? Do you turn a blind eye to the repeated warnings of qualified personnel about a critical problem in an essential service? Or do you do something? The Spoils Systems puts loyalty above competence and quality of job performance. If you are a person who needs someone in the government to do a good job, you might prefer the merit system.

* The Spoils System changes the focus of politicians from addressing issues to keeping their supporters happy. If you're a politician, what do you do when the government's revenues are dwindling. Do you increase your government workforce by 1,000 workers? Or do you find a way to restrain the size of government to fit more closely to the budget? If you're in the Spoils System, you hire more workers to reward them and because you're going to need their support in the election. If you have a system based on merit, you restrain the size of the workforce, and make sure you have the best workforce you can get.

*The Spoils System makes it easier to cross the line into illegal kickbacks and other criminal activity. Do you purchase, at government expense, what isn't needed so that your family has a lucrative contract because you have power and position? Do you think your job, connections to the Governor, or family name will protect you while you traffic ice or coerce a bribe?

*The Spoils System adds a coercive element to government employment, and stifles free and open public debate on issues of importance. What do you do if you're a political appointee and there is an issue about your department. Do you support those who protest and rally? Or do you follow the administration's line, and try to stop the protest, despite the merits and your own opinion, because keeping your job depends on your loyalty? Do you show up for a legislative oversight session or worry about what might happen if your testimony casts a shadow on your boss?

When we vote on Monday, November 23, 2009, we can take the short view of what is going to get us "the most"--which candidate has promised us a job or has "helped" us out financially. Or we can take the long view, and ask which candidate is going to use merit and not the Spoils System when he gets elected?

For me, it's a matter of degree. I see that what we presently have with the Fitial Administration is a very strong Spoils System. I'm voting against that. I'm hoping that Heinz Hofschneider will be better. He's a politician. He has, no doubt, paid back some political debts at time. But he seems to be much less inured to the Spoils Systems and much more likely to listen and consider the merits of any proposal.

I hope he gets the message, if elected, that the voters really do want change, do want honest government, do deserve a government that fosters open access to information and decision-making, public debate, and the best qualified employees in essential jobs.

If he doesn't get elected, I hope everyone is ready to live with the decline in government services and the problems that the Spoils System will continue to bring.

Angleo Endoreses Heinz for Governor.

2009-11-18T12:12:00.002+10:00

You can read the entire post at Angelo's blog:

I am voting for Heinz Hofschneider in the gubernatorial runoff election. I fully endorse his candidacy and ask that you vote for him on November 23.

While Ben Fitial has been a supporter of Beautify CNMI, a campaign I hold very close to my heart, I cannot in good conscience vote for the man that refused to meet with concerned citizens for nearly two years concerning another very important issue, ocean conservation.

Instead of meeting with us to hear what we had to say, instead of engaging us to understand our intentions, instead of hearing our pleas to just listen, he ordered his administration to carry out a campaign appealing to the worst side of our local people. And this was not the only island issue in which he did this. And we were not the only targets of his vindictiveness.

My experience with Heinz Hofschneider was the reverse. He took the time to listen to us. He made a point to educate himself on the subject. He sought out experts that knew more about the subject than himself. And after careful consideration he made his decision.

Heinz is the type of man I want leading our people. I humbly ask you to support his bid as our next governor.

I like this endorsement because it gives specific facts and opinions, and I agree with the values expressed.

A Useful Discovery!

2009-11-17T17:20:00.003+10:00

Okay, in Saipan and the tropics in general not everyone wants warm or hot water, but some of us do like a hot shower.

And lots of people like to drink beer.

So now there is a way to get these people together! The beer-bottle-solar-water-heater.

It's all about re-using and recycling! Eco-friendly. What's not to love about this?

National Novel Writing Month--Region: Elsewhere::Micronesia

2009-11-16T09:02:00.003+10:00

We've now crossed the half-way mark of November and of National Novel Writing Month. In one crazy month, we novelists crank out a brand-new novel draft of at least 50,000 words. Well, that's the challenge!

This is the second year that we have had an "official" region as part of NaNoWriMo and our region is called "Elsewhere::Micronesia." It embraces all of Micronesia, so although regions are typically "municipalities" and our NaNoWriMo-designated leaders are called "Municipal Liaisons," it's quite obvious that our region is a bit, um, more spread-out!

In the past, there have been writers from the Marshall Islands and Palau, as well as Guam and Saipan. This year, we've got writers only in Guam and Saipan, but wow! We have a lot MORE writers, and we are writing a lot more words! There is a ton of story-telling going on just now.

So for a quick run-down, here's the scoreboard for those who have posted word counts (by user name or real name, and word count), as of the close of November 15, 2009. I know these writers are part of our region, because they've set Elsewhere::Micronesia as their home region, or they've put some detail in their personal profiles from which I could place them here.

Guam:
Leo Babauta: 47,044
Sea Phoenix /Shannon Giel: 32,460
Applejuicebri: 30,556
Cjcarino/ Carlo: 30,019
Lickmydisaster: 26,500
Samwriterchick: 25,111
Twerksie: 13,053
Itchy671: 5,728
Maddiemaer: 2,712
Tenshi-bozu: 1,180
T_Tell: 337
Patty-watty: 308

Saipan:
Saipanwriter/(me): 32,518
Anna Passion/Anna Rose DLG: 20,159
Josemango/Joe Race: 17,989
Lisswain/ Lis Swain: 17,231
Wheaty2008/Matt Wheat: 1,762
Roseanna/ Roseanna Sablan: 1,003

Undisclosed Location:
Aomiles: 23,339
Rice: 7,003
Ahimes: 2,084
Cl832: 001

As you can tell, we are really writing up a storm!

Three of us have "won" NaNoWriMo before--meeting the challenge of writing 50,000 words in November: Me (4 time winner), Joe Race (3 time winner) and Leo (1 time winner). I think we'll have more "winners" this year than ever before!

I am really, really happy to see so much novelling going on in "Elsewhere::Micronesia."

On the CEC

2009-11-13T20:18:00.002+10:00

It takes some courage to admit you were wrong, especially in the face of lots of publicity. The CEC is apparently willing to reconsider its decision on what is meant in our CNMI Constitution by the phrase "votes cast" and change its mind.

Where it said before that "votes cast" included all ballots, whether a vote was indicated for the legislative and popular initiatives or not, it has now concluded, according to Tina Sablan's report (and Lani Walker on KSPN news?), that the phrase "votes cast" means actual votes on the initiatives indicating a yes or no.

Thank you.

This preserves our CNMI Constitution.

I don't like the results of the election as to some of the initiatives, but what else is new?!

A Very Long Ramble on "Votes Cast" and the Initiatives

2009-11-10T19:45:00.008+10:00

I know--this is too long and rambling, but still, this is how my mind sometimes works. So fwiw:

“Votes Cast”—a question of law, not politics.

The Commonwealth Election Commission has certified results from the election held November 7, 2009. It has included in its certification 1) a call for the run-off election between two governor/lieutenant governor teams; 2) a determination that none of the legislative initiatives to amend our CNMI Constitution passed; and 3) a determination that the popular initiative to change our statutory law did not pass.

Note that the newspapers immediately reported the need for a run-off election and initially reported that the legislative and popular initiatives all passed.

However, the CEC has certified results that none of the initiatives passed. Each of these three certifications depend in part on the CEC’s assessment of the number of “votes cast.”

You can see the raw numbers on the Saipan Tribune’s website: here

The Run-Off Election

There were 13,536 votes cast for governor/lieutenant governor candidates. These candidates run in teams, pursuant to our CNMI Constitution. It's very clear no candidate got more than 50% of the vote.

P.L. 16-43, codified at 1 CMC § 6509, became law in July 2009, to effectuate the House Legislative Initiative 15-16, S.D. It provides as follows:

“...a runoff election for governor and lieutenant governor is required if no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast and counted for that office.”

This language is very clear: it speaks of votes, it describes the votes as both cast and counted, and it limits the votes to those made for “that” office (meaning the offices of governor/lieutenant governor).

What are votes? When is a vote cast? When is it counted? These are the questions that seem basic and easy to answer.

A vote is generally described as an elector’s choice in an election. It is distinguished from the “ballot” which is the means or method for making the vote known. “Ballots” can be paper with ink or pencil or punch holes or they can be mechanical or electronic signals given from voting machines—and the purpose of the “ballot” is to signify or express the “vote,” which is the choice of the voter/elector.

The United States Supreme Court discussed the difference between votes and ballots in the case of Gutierrez v. Ada, 528 U.S. 25 (2000), which arose out of an election contest in Guam. The Court took the case to resolve the different interpretation that the 9th Circuit had given to the phrase “votes cast” , reading it to include the number of ballots cast in the general election, and not just the votes in the Governor/Lieutenant Governor race; the 3rd Circuit had interpreted the phrase as it applied to the Virgin Islands elections in Todman v. Boschulte, 694 F.2d 939 (3rd Cir. 1982) as limited to votes actually cast in the race, and not to the total number of ballots.

In Gutierrez v. Ada, the U.S. Supreme Court looked at the Guam Organic Act and its language calling for a runoff between the top two gubernatorial slates if one did not get a majority of the votes cast. The U.S. Supreme Court said that:

“It would be equally odd to think that after repeatedly using “votes” or “vote” to mean an expression of choice for the gubernatorial slate, Congress suddenly used “votes cast in any election” to mean “ballots cast.”

This case was decided before we passed our CNMI Constitutional initiative and the enactment of P.L. 16-43.

It helps us understand our law, which includes not only the same phrase “votes cast” but adds the specific language “and counted for that office.” It is clear that in the CNMI, for our run-off election, our law only includes the votes cast in the governor/lieutenant governor election; that votes that are not counted –because they are over-votes or the voter is disqualified, for example—are not part of the equation in determining whether a candidate has reached the 50% mark. For those who do not select any candidate in the race, their under-vote is not added into the equation either, as not being a “vote,” or not being a “vote cast,” or not being a “vote cast and counted.” It doesn’t really matter for this law, which particular reason keeps their vote out of the exchange.

Constitutional amendment by Legislative Initiative

The Saipan Tribune election results show that
9,412 votes were counted on the House Legislative Initiative 15-3, of which 5353 were YES.

9,708 votes were counted on the House Legislative Initiative 16-11, of which 5644 were YES.

9748 votes were counted on Senate Legislative Initiative 16-11, of which 5476 were YES.

Article XVIII, section 3 of the CNMI Constitution provides the means for changing the CNMI Constitution by Legislative Initiative.

“The legislature by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members of each house present and voting may propose amendments to this Constitution. ..."

After the Legislature passes a proposed constitutional change, the people vote on it. Article XVIII, section 5.

“a) A proposed amendment to this Constitution shall be submitted to the voters for ratification at the next regular general election or at a special election established by law.
b) An amendment proposed by legislative initiative shall become effective if approved by a majority of the votes cast...”

This has been part of our CNMI Constitution since it was ratified in 1978, and the language pre-dates the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gutierrez v. Ada.

These provisions use the term “votes cast” but do not have the added clarifying language of the P.L. 16-43, specifying that the votes must be countable and in the election in question.

So the analysis starts with what is a vote.

The CEC seems to be saying that our CNMI Constitution, using the phrase a “vote cast” in the context of the legislative initiative is synonymous with a ballot cast in any of the races, contests, issues of the election held.

The CEC cites no authority for its opinion. Although there are some old cases from other jurisdictions that have held similarly, those cases are based on the unique situations of those jurisdictions. They are old. And they were considered unpersuasive by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Gutierrez v. Ada case.

In a follow-up case in Guam, the Guam Supreme Court decided that over-votes were no more an expression of a vote cast than absent votes. Underwood v. Aguon, 2006 Guam 17, 2006 Guam LEXIS 18. This case also cites Bush v. Gore, 121 S. Ct. 525 (2000), where the U.S. Supreme Court considered what constituted a “vote” under federal election law.

“In certifying election results, the votes eligible for inclusion in the certification are the votes meeting the properly established legal requirements.”

The CNMI uses one ballot with all the election contests and races and issues on it. The CEC informed me prior to the election in response to a question I had posed that it is its policy to count votes on each ballot as much as possible. If a voter over-votes in one race, the CEC will not count those votes, but will read and count the remainder of the votes on the ballot in the other races. If a voter under-votes in a race, the CEC will count the under-vote and the votes in the other races/contest/issues correctly made on the ballot. If a voter does not vote at all in a race, the CEC will count the remainder of the votes in the races, contests, issues where votes are cast.

In other words, the CEC generally is counting votes, not ballots.

So a “vote” should mean a clear expression of an opinion on an issue or candidate; and to be “cast” it needs to be clear, legible, and submitted to the CEC during the election process.

It seems that legally, a ballot is not a “vote cast” but is rather just a ballot—a means for getting the vote cast and transmitting that information to the election officers.

The inclusion by the CEC of all ballots in the equation is the same as the CEC casting a “no” vote for every voter who did not indicate a choice on the ballot on the initiative.

Popular initiative to change the statutory law

9644 votes were counted on the Popular Initiative on the Open Government Act, of which 6597 were YES.

The CNMI Constitution Article IX provides a means for people to change the statutory law. Section 1 (d) reads:

“An initiative petition that proposes a general law for the Commonwealth shall become law if approved by two-thirds of the votes cast by persons qualified to vote in the Commonwealth.”

This provision looks a lot like both the run-off provision and the constitutional amendment by initiative provision, except it is worded slightly differently again. This time, the “votes cast” is modified by the phrase “by persons qualified to vote in the Commonwealth.” This phrase makes it clear that votes of those disqualified are not put in the equation for determining the 2/3rd passage. But it doesn’t answer the basic question of what are “votes cast.”

The same analysis used above applies, I think.

Votes cast must be votes submitted in the election. The phrase “votes cast” also helps us understand that it doesn’t mean votes not cast, so that votes by those who choose not to vote, but may be registered voters, are not part of the equation.

But still the question is what is a vote? The cases cited above strongly suggest that a vote is not a ballot; a vote is an expression of choice on the candidates, race, contest, issue in question. Votes must be actual votes, and not ballots.

I disagree with the CEC’s determination.

But I also think that this issue is a legal issue, not a political issue and should be decided by our courts here.

Election Results?

2009-11-08T12:46:00.002+10:00

The Saipan Tribune is posting results here.

I personally find these results very hard to believe.
I don't believe Jacinta Kaipat could get more votes than Tina Sablan for senator. I don't believe it.

I also find it very difficult to believe that Heinz and Benigno are in a neck-and-neck race.

Either we have voters who are just clueless about the real nature of our politicians and what they are doing to our Commonwealth, or we have corruption that has become rampant.

I don't think all of our voters or even the majority of them are clueless. And that leads me to question the integrity of our election commission.

I'm disappointed with the results from Precinct 5 and the mayor's race. I can believe these results, although they are hard to swallow.

This is really, really bad.
We need United Nations monitors at the run-off election.

Election Disconnect

2009-11-07T16:41:00.004+10:00

This is a short post and small rant.

I voted today.
There was only one candidate for Board of Education.

We hear slogans and promises all the time. Children are our future. Education is important. We value learning. But when it comes to action, we get nothing. We do nothing.

9 candidates for mayor of Saipan and 1 for BOE.

This hurts my heart.

Voting on Initiatives--one by one-#3.

2009-11-05T12:12:00.004+10:00

Public Initiative to extend the Open Government Act (OGA) to apply to the Legislature. I don't have a link to the full text. If someone has that, please let me know.

This is the initiative spearheaded by Rep. Tina Sablan.
It changes the law as follows:

1. deletes the exception for the Legislature in the OGA
2. that means, the Legislature will have to prepare agendas, give notice 72hours in advance of sessions, allow public comment, and respond within 10 days to requests for public records;
3. there is an exception to the 72 hour notice requirement for emergencies, provided the reasons for calling the session emergency are stated in writing, 2/3 of the members agree it is an emergency, and there is an emergency agenda, etc. that eventually gets filed in the public record.

The pros are obvious--we get a more transparent government and greater ability to participate in our democracy.

There seem to be no cons in my opinion.

The OGA originally applied to the Legislature; there seems to be little reason it can't apply now.

The CEC brochure on the OGA initiative lists some cons that I'll address.

* The 72 hour notice would require new notice if discussion is continued over to another day. Really? I don't think so. I don't know of any legal opinion that supports this interpretation. In courts of law, when notice is required, if it's given and the matter is conintued, no new notice is generally required.

* If the Legislature mistakenly fails to give proper notice the act is null and void. Yes. This is not a con--this is good. We want all of our Legislators in on the process; we want the public to know about it. We want to stop secrecy and lies and quick deals behind closed doors that do not face public scrutiny.

* The 2/3rds rule may be hard to obtain in times of emergency. I think this could be true, but I also think that this rule is designed to prevent false "emergency" declarations--like we're seeing all the time from the executive branch. To me, this is not so much a "con" to the amendment as a reason to do some planning. I think the Legislature can and should prepare some contingency plans for dealing with emergencies, having participation by cell phone, etc.

* Requiring notice will decrease the likelihood that legislators will meet outside of committee members to discuss matters. This is pure B.S. The rule applies to official meetings--not informal discussions between legislators.

* The legislators and their assistants will have bigger workloads. Another piece of B.S. Paper or electronic notice is not significantly difficult; and the potential input from legislators who are prepared because they got notice, and from the public, means that we'll have a better chance to have good laws that won't need amending every few months.

For me, this is a really clear and very much needed amendment--This is a vote yes on the public initiative to extend the OGA to apply to the Legislature.