CNMI Del. Sablan reflects on his historic 8-terms

Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan said, "This has been a singular honor of my life. This is a job that I dreamt about in 1986."

Congressman Gregorio Sablan lived out his dream when he entered office in 2009 as the first delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Northern Mariana Islands. He announced that his 8th term would be his last after working for the people for 16 years in the nation’s capital.

"I have worked hard. I believe I serve the people well. But it's time to pass on that job to another person. Someone with new energy and new ideas and hopefully represent us well for a long time also," he added.

During his terms in office, the Democrat increased funding to schools, the hospital, and water and sewer projects. He also expanded federal food and energy assistance for low-income families. His work led to the return of ownership of submerged lands. His legislative impact has also touched immigration, labor, and federal relief.

Asked what he would want to be remembered for in his time in Congress, Sablan said, "My love for the people. My love for the Marianas. Nothing becomes possible if you don't have that work, that commitment and that responsibility in you. For me, it's in my heart. Hasn't always been easy. You know, personally, I've got an attitude sometimes that doesn't really fit well in politics. But I speak the truth as much as I can."

In his letter announcing that he will not seek re-election, Sablan wrote “And it is not because I have accomplished everything I wanted for the people of our islands. The work is far from done.”

"Equity. Parity," he said about what work remains. "If not equity, then parity with programs across the nation. That is not an individual effort."

He says there are over 700 federal programs that could benefit the Marianas. But now as he wraps up a historic campaign, the focus turns to who’s next?

"People would say, ‘the person you support will be the winner.’ Hello? Excuse me, I don't believe in that. If you watched all my campaigns since the very beginning, I was not associated with groups. I was just with friends basically," he said.

And it's that ground-level organizing that has perhaps made Sablan a political powerhouse in Congress, being able to work with both Republican and Democrat leaders to get the job done. We asked Sablan if he’d endorse anyone this November.

"I mean, I will vote. I will vote for someone. Endorse? I don't know. Not necessarily. Let’s See? Let's get the candidates to introduce themselves to the public and that includes me.

"Whoever we decide as who is our next delegate is someone that we, I think we all must allow to do the work and also evaluate from the first two years. But I would like the candidates to make their arguments for why they are the best choice for the people and of course, I'm listening and I'm reading and listening. But do not discount that I won't support the Democratic nominee. Just not in this interview.

"Because, you know, Democrats are going to be in the majority in the House. So I prefer that a Democrat is elected from here to eternity if you're asking me. For the Marianas the Democratic Party goals and objectives are most beneficial for our people here.

While Sablan is leaving his D.C. seat, we asked if he’d ever seek local office.

"No, no, no. I think I earned time off. I am still alive. I am not dead, but yeah, you never know, right," he said.