Politics boils in

Politics

Politics boils in American islands

By David North

“The Battle of the Dinosaurs” is how the upcoming election for governor of American Samoa is being described.

Samoa's only two elected governors, life-long political opponents, will prob ably be battling again later this year when Governor Peter Tali Coleman's four-year term nears an end. The 72-year-old governor is expected to announce for re-election shortly, and he already has the endorsement of the territorial Republican Party.

Senator A.P. Lutali, also, 72, who served as governor from 1985 through 1988, has already announced his candi dacy, and he has the support of the islands’ Democrats. Coleman, the terri tory’s first elected governor, has never lost an election; a constitutional pro vision barring more than two successive four-year terms kept him off the ballot in 1984 when Lutali won. After Coleman beat Lutali in 1988 Lutali was elected to the territorial senate, where he continues

to serve.

While Lutali and Coleman are ex pected to secure 80-90 per cent or more of the votes between them, there are other candidates as well. Falema’o “Phil” Pili, for example, resigned as Deputy Treasurer of American Samoa to make the race.

Meanwhile, there are a series of other political contests in the American islands, all timed to coincide with the presidential election on the Mainland in November. • Congressman Eni F.H.

Faleomaveaga, a Democrat is running for re-election in American Samoa, and Congressman Ben Blaz, a Republican, is similarly engaged in Guam. Both these seats carry with them votes in committees and party caucuses, but not on the floor of the House of Representatives in

Washington.

• The 21-member Territorial Legis lature of Guam, now held by the Democrats 11-10, is up again, for two year terms. It is the only legislative body in Guam.

• 2 All the members of the popularly elected Samoan House of Representa tives, and half of the matai-elected Senate, are also due for election, with the lower house getting two year terms, and the upper house, four years. Members of these bodies, collectively called the Fono, usually do not divide along party lines. • American Samoa also has an elected Lieutenant Governor; candidates for this office are selected by the candidate for governor; voters then vote for a Governor-Lt. Governor team.

Fourth-term Congressman Blaz faces his toughest race this November since he defeated Congressman Antonio Won Pat back in 1984. The likely Democratic candidate for the seat is well-known, articulate, and the leading spokesman for the Chamorro Rights movement. He is Dr Robert Underwood, a professor at the University of Guam. Grandson of a U.S.

Navy officer and three Chamorro grandparents he led the Organization of People for Indigenous Rights, a group which made a major input to the Draft Commonwealth Act, which island leaders are using to try to secure a better relationship with Washington. Under wood is said to be a better campaigner than the somewhat aloof Blaz, a Repub lican and a former U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General.

Faleomaveaga, now finishing his

second term, has battled with Governor Coleman on a series of issues, and the Governor is sure to have a candidate to run against him, but who it will be is not yet known. Two years ago Faleomaveaga soundly trounced Coleman’s candidate, Territorial Treasurer Ace Tago, who is not expected to run again.

Coleman’s candidate for the seat in Congress might be his son and chief of staff, William “Dyke” Coleman, but the betting is that it will be the territory’s Attorney General, Aviata F’alevao. Meanwhile another candi date has announced. He is Tuika Tuika, a firebrand, and a one-time member of the Fono.

Lutali’s candidate for Lt. Governor this time is Tauese Sunia, brother of Faleomaveaga’s predecessor in the U.S.

House of Representatives, Fofo Sunia.

Tauese, a former member of the Fono, had served Lutali earlier as his cam paign manager and as director of education. A non-lawyer, he is a recognised Legal Practitioner, specialis ing in land and titles disputes.

Coleman’s candidate for Lt.

Governor is not known at the moment.

The current Lt. Governor, Galea’i P.

Poumele, is in a hospital in Honolulu; should his health improve, he might run again. Otherwise it might be Treasurer Tago.

The American islands do not cast votes for the President. But while the U.S. islands do not take part in the White House voting in November, they do play a small role at the party conventions which nominate the two rivals for the office. The Republican delegates from Guam and Samoa are all pledged to George Bush, but the American Samoan delegation to the Democratic convention might play an interesting role. The Samoans have four votes (out of four thousand) at the convention, but the entire delegation is uncommitted, probably the only totally uncommitted delegation at the conven tion. If Governor Bill Clinton stumbles some more in the primaries, the delegation from Pago Pago will be heavily wooed at what will be an unusual event in recent American political history, a truly open conven tion, where the delegates actually chose the presidential nominee.

The Commonwealth of Northern Marina Islands (CNMI) is not in volved in any of this year’s elections. It dects its own officials in Novembers of xid years, and its leaders have decided unlike Guam and American Samoa) lot to have a delegate in the House of Representatives. Should CNMI ever iecide it wants a voteless seat in Congress, or to play a voting role in the inventions, all it has to do is ask. □