The United States House of Representatives election in the Northern Mariana Islands, 2008 took place on November 4, 2008 and was the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

' first election of a delegate to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Since the CNMI traditionally had general elections in odd-numbered years, the November 2008 ballot contained only this office. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was the most recent United States jurisdiction to receive congressional representation in the United States House of Representatives (in the form of a non-voting delegate). Gregorio Sablan, who ran as an independent, won the election and became the first Northern Mariana Islands Delegate in Congressional history. He assumed office in January 2009.

Election background

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 allowed the Northern Mariana Islands to elect its first Delegate in history to the

and created a new

Northern Mariana Islands' At-large congressional district The Northern Mariana Islands's at-large congressional district encompasses the entire U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The territory does not have a voting member of Congress, but does elect a delegate who can particip ...

. Under the 2008 law, the new CNMI delegate was allowed to serve in

United States Congressional committee A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

s within the House of Representatives and vote on proposed legislation on the committee level. However, as with the delegates from other U.S. territories, the CNMI delegate received limited powers, not being permitted to vote on full legislation on the United States House floor. The new delegate received all of the same allowances, benefits and compensation, including an approximately $170,000 a year

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. F ...

, as a full member of the House of Representatives. The new legislation also federalized the islands' immigration and labor controls and policies. The new provisions for United States government control over CNMI

immigration policy Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

were opposed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Benigno Fitial Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assu ...

, who filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

in September 2008 in the

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District o ...

to halt the takeover. Fitial's suit contended that the immigration takeover by U.S. federal authorities, scheduled for mid-2009, would harm the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

of the Northern Mariana Islands by limiting the number of foreign aliens allowed to work in the territory. The leadership of the

Northern Mariana Islands Senate The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The Senate consists of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, and ...

opposed Fitial's lawsuit against the United States government and voted to deny a requested $400,000 in funding for the legal action. Though legal action was still pending at the time of the election, Governor Benigno Fitial encouraged all registered CNMI voters to cast their ballots for the new delegate on election day. The deadline for prospective candidates to file to run in the election was August 6, 2008. The historic first federal election did not attract much attention, in terms of overall

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The r ...

. Less than 13,000 people registered to vote in the lone Congressional election. These voters represented 1/4 of the total CNMI population. This represented a 15 percent drop in the number of registered voters from the 2007 midterm legislative elections.

Candidates

*''Listed alphabetically by political party'' To be eligible to run in the 2008 Congressional election, each candidate was required to be a United States citizen, at least 25 years of age, and must have resided in the Northern Mariana Islands for at least seven years before the election. Candidates were also required to be registered CNMI voters on the day of the election (November 4, 2008) and could not seek any other elected office simultaneously. The field of nine candidates for the Congressional election consisted of one

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, one Democrat and seven independents. The nine candidates represented a very diverse mix of professional backgrounds.

Democratic Party (endorsed candidate)

David Cing David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, former Northern Mariana Islands Senator

Independent candidates

Felipe Atalig Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

and Northern Islands

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

member, a Republican, but running as an independent * Luis Crisostimo, Northern Mariana Islands Senator, a Democrat, but running as an independent * John Davis,

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran * John Gonzales, television

talk show host Below is a list of talk show hosts, sorted alphabetically by their surnames. __NOTOC__ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z See also * List of game show hosts This is a list o ...

, a Covenant, but running as an independent * Juan T. Lizama, retired

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, a Republican, but running as an independent * Gregorio C. Sablan, former Election Commission executive director, a Democrat, but running as an independent * Chong Won, businessman originally from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, first time political candidate

Republican Party (endorsed candidate)

* Pete Tenorio, current elected resident representative in Washington D.C. since 2002.

Results

References

External links

Pacific Magazine: Sablan's Lead Expected To Hold In U.S. Congress RaceSaipan Tribune: Election Primer: Who, what, where when of historic delegate pollsSaipan Tribune: Candidates quizzed at public forumForum puts delegate contenders in hot seat
{{2008 United States elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...