A CNMI senator is questioning why former Guam senator Wil Castro is receiving a salary exceeding the cap set for the CNMI governor's chief of staff and why someone local was not hired. 

"I am not convinced that we do not have anybody in our Commonwealth market that could fill this position that is currently being occupied by Mr. William M. Castro," CNMI Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero said. 

She's calling into question former Castro's hiring as Gov. Ralph Torres' chief of staff last October. In a letter to the legislature in January, the Torres notified lawmakers that Castro will be paid $80,000 a year, exceeding the $65,000 cap for his position set by the Compensation Adjustment Act.

The senator wants to see a more diligent effort to hire locally, first.


"Just because maybe they are not Harvard graduates that may seem to be why this person Mr. William M. Castro, would be the ideal person to hold the position," Deleon Guerrero said. "Mr. President, I think we need to take a careful look internally and really go by the statute that is telling us that there has to be some due diligence effort made."

Tuesday morning, the CNMI governor sent the media a statement defending Castro and attached to the email his resume and 15-page resume including references for contact.

When he was first hired in October, Torres described Castro as a son of the Marianas, citing his work at the Northern Marianas College and with the Marianas Working Group.

 
"Having him back home is a plus for all of us," Torres said. "And especially for me and my administration," he had said. 

Castro had responded, "It is definitely going to be an opportunity of a lifetime."

But not everyone in the administration is on board. In October, CNMI Lt. Gov. Arnold Palacios, who's running for governor this year, told KUAM that he learned about Castro's hiring by reading the newspaper.

"More power to him. He has a good job probably," he said. "He's got a nice contract. But...I don't know..a lot of people are laughing."

It's yet to be seen who will have that last laugh.