Wednesday, August 13, 2008

John Davis Runs!


Here is a letter from John Davis who is running for the position of US Congress delegate for the CNMI.

Hello,
As you probably already know, I am running for the seat of CNMI Delegate to the U.S. Congress. However, you probably don’t know much about me. And since I am not as well known as some of the other candidates I thought I’d better start catching up in the “who I am” department.

I have been a resident of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for twenty-two years. I arrived in the CNMI in September1986 to assist in the opening of the Commonwealth Health Center. I was the CHC’s first Radiology Department Manager. If you are 21 or 22 years old and were born in the Commonwealth, I probably took the first pictures of you (using ultrasound). I was later the resident manager for FHP when it moved to its current location in the Oleai Center. I have also worked as a taxi driver, courier, fitness trainer, bartender as well as other so-called “ordinary everyday jobs.”

Until recently I was very actively involved in sports. I have competed in football, wrestling, boxing, and track. I have competed internationally in track and boxing. I represented the CNMI in bodybuilding and weightlifting. I have been a sport parachutist, and taikwondo “breaking” demonstrator, and I have skied the Alpspitz (a mountain in Germany) from top to bottom.

I retired from the U.S. Army after twenty years of service. I earned the Combat Medic’s Badge and Bronze Star with “V’ Device while serving one and a half tours with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. I have earned All-American status on two separate occasions as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Saipan Post 3457.

My children are all adults and, except for my youngest, live in the mainland United States. I raised three children here in the Commonwealth. My baby is now a sophomore at Northern Marianas College. My family ties within the Commonwealth are limited. I am not a member of any political party or political organization. I live in the CNMI because I like it here (the sun, the ocean, the beaches, the laid-back lifestyle that sometimes is laid-back a little too much). I don’t owe money or favors to anyone. I speak my mind and sometimes from my heart.

I have a Master’s degree in Education and I teach Advanced Placement Language Arts (English) and Advanced Placement Government and Politics at Marianas High school.

Two years is a very short time to claim that I am going to move the earth. So aside from my pledge to faithfully represent all of the people of the CNMI with truth, honesty, and integrity, I will also promise not to use the office to maximize my photo opportunities, not to use the office to maximize my time on the golf courses, not use the office to assault my subordinates, and not to use the office to line my own or my family’s pockets.

What I will do is:
(1) Introduce legislation for the transfer of the control of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and submerged lands surrounding the CNMI from the United States to the CNMI.
(2) Immediately introduce legislation to have an office of the Small Business Administration open in the CNMI.
(3) Immediately introduce legislation to have a Veterans Administration Hospital built in the CNMI.
(4) And, if it is still an issue, work to have green cards and/or passports granted to non-American individuals who have immediate relative status in the CNMI.

I think that getting these issues resolved will be a full time endeavor. If anyone is promising more, he is either lying, has no concept of the nature of the office, or he is a superhero.

Well, that’s me, John H. Davis, Jr. in a very small nutshell. But, at least you have an idea of who I am.

I will be happy to meet with anyone or any group to elaborate on my positions. If you are inclined to hear more, please contact Jeanne Rayphand at 235-9115, 235-5123 or 287-9807 and she will set a time and date. Thank you for your time and no matter for whom you vote, please VOTE.

John H. Davis, Jr.