GREGORIO Kilili Camacho Sablan, who turned 70 this year, is the most successful politician in CNMI history. No other local politician has run and won eight consecutive Commonwealth-wide elections. Kilili broke the record of Gov. Pedro “Teno” Pangelinan Tenorio, who won six CNMI-wide elections: three gubernatorial primaries and three gubernatorial elections. It was Teno, incidentally, who appointed Kilili as election commissioner in 1998, and it was his sterling performance in that job that made him a viable candidate for the CNMI’s first delegate election in 2008, a race he narrowly won.
Like many elected officials, however, Kilili doesn’t want to be remembered as “just” a politician. (Politics, come to think of it, is not “just” politics — as anyone who has experienced the thrills and tribulations of running for office and soliciting votes from a typically skeptical public can attest.)
Kilili, above all, prefers to be remembered as a tireless and relentless servant of the people — the CNMI Energizer Bunny, who kept going and going.
Of course he has critics — who doesn’t? And they may argue that an elected official’s record in fulfilling his duties is far more important than his election results. True. They may also — and some do — contend that Kilili could have “done more” as delegate. However, such claims dwell in the realm of hypotheticals, and debating hypotheticals is often an endless exercise — precisely because they are hypothetical. Kilili did what he accomplished as delegate and communicated it to the voting public. From 2010 to 2022, his constituents evaluated his performance as delegate and consistently re-elected him.
In politics, there is no more emphatic endorsement of one’s track record than winning an election. Kilili won eight non-hypothetical elections, including three as an unopposed candidate.
He would have won a ninth term. But in January 2024, he announced that he would not seek reelection. He said the “time has come to pass this responsibility to a new representative.”
Former U.S. Congressman Kilili hopes that the people of the CNMI remember that he was just one of them. “I brought our beliefs, our way of thinking, our way of respecting each other to Congress.”
To honor the remarkable tenure of the CNMI’s first delegate to the U.S. Congress, Marianas Variety interviewed him, via email, as part of a special supplement that will remind us of what he has accomplished on behalf of a grateful Commonwealth.
MV: What made you decide to return to politics in 2008? [Kilili served two terms as a Democrat in the CNMI House of Representatives from 1982 to 1986.]
Kilili: In 1986, as a special assistant to U.S. [Democratic] Senator [Daniel] Inouye [of Hawaii], I made the decision then I would run for the congressional seat for the Marianas when the seat is established by law. U.S. Public Law 118-294 was signed into law in early 2008, and it established the nonvoting congressional seat for the Marianas in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s been 38 years since my original decision about the post in 1986. I think I, and those who worked with me over the 16 years, have served our people well. I know I have worked hard for the Marianas.
MV: What do you consider your greatest achievements as delegate?
Kilili: Of course, when I was first elected, responsibility for immigration in the Marianas was just being transferred to the federal government and we had to do everything we could to make that transfer as least difficult as possible.
At the same time, we had two larger goals. First, I wanted us to find every opportunity to include the Marianas in the full range of federal programs, from which we had long been overlooked or short-changed. I wanted to bring as much federal money as I could to be spent here to help our people and islands. We made huge strides successfully, but there is so much more to do — always. We will always need good representation in Congress.
Second, I wanted to earn the respect of my colleagues. If you asked any random member of Congress about the Marianas, when I began service in 2009, they would say “garment industry abuse” or “Abramoff corruption scandal.” That was what our islands were mostly known for. And I wanted to change that.
When they think about the Marianas, I wanted them to think about a hard-working, responsible, trustworthy congressional office. I wanted those members of Congress to know by my conduct that the people of the Marianas are patriotic and honorable members of the American political family.
One big item less talked about were the casework we provided to thousands of individuals in the Marianas over these 16 years. Whether it was help with federal disaster assistance, for veterans, immigration, Medicaid, federal taxes, or Social Security, we were there to make sure the people of the Marianas — the people I represented in Congress — were well served by their federal government. Casework specifics are confidential, so there is no list; but that was some of the most rewarding work we did in Congress.
MV: What did you learn in your first year as a delegate?
Kilili: Humility.
MV: What did you learn in your 16 years as a delegate?
Kilili: More humility.
MV: What do you say to those who claim that you could have done more?
Kilili: I would agree. I have never felt satisfied with what I accomplished. There is always more to do.
MV: What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced during your eight terms in Congress?
Kilili: Getting a Republican Congress — and President Trump — to agree to allow more foreign workers into the United States, as we did in Public Law 115-218, and to agree to give legal status to people who were not lawfully present in our country, as we did in Public Law 116-24.
MV: Are there any bills or initiatives you wish you had more time to pursue?
Kilili: If it were up to me, I might have gotten more involved in foreign affairs issues, which I have always had an interest in. But I was not sent to Congress to do what interested me. I was there to lift up the people of the Marianas and I stayed focused on their best interest.
MV: If a delegate and a governor don’t see eye to eye on many issues, does it hinder your work as a delegate? How do you cope with such a situation?
Kilili: A former governor and I did not see eye to eye on immigration. He took the federal government to court, spent millions of dollars, and lost. I spent those two years of litigation, getting to know [Homeland Security] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano and her staff, the people at [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services], Director [Alejandro] Mayorkas, the legal staff, the Hawai’i office — everyone who was implementing the law. “Let’s do this the least difficult way possible,” I said. And they agreed. They even gave me technical assistance in writing the laws to extend the immigration transition period and allow more workers into the Marianas, and give status to long-term Marianas residents, a whole new category of immigrant in federal law.
MV: How do you hope your constituents remember your time in Congress?
Kilili: I hope they remember that I was just one of them. I brought our beliefs, our way of thinking, our way of respecting each other to Congress. I hope people feel the Marianas were well represented in Congress.
MV: What will you miss the most and least about serving in Congress?
Kilili: In Congress, I woke up every day knowing we could do something good for other people. Somedays, it felt like we just weren’t going anywhere. But there were also the days when we knew for sure we had helped a lot of constituents in a big way. So, there were ups and downs.
But you don’t have to be in Congress to start every day by asking what you can do for others. So, I hope to continue to be active in our communities.
What I will miss the least is my long commute to work and back.
MV: Who has been the most influential mentor or colleague in your political career?
Kilili: Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is an incredible mentor. Not that she and I hung out. But look how she broke through to become the first woman Speaker of the House. Look how she muscled the votes to get the Affordable Care Act passed into law.
I had a front row seat and witnessed how as Speaker, and Minority Leader, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi conducted herself with dignity and good humor and an infallible ability to bring people together to reach a common goal. She was a role model.
MV: What moments stand out as the most memorable from your time in Washington?
Kilili: The first day I walked into the House of Representatives to be sworn in, the first time I sat in the Speaker’s seat, held the gavel, and chaired the meeting — those were the most memorable moments. Just being there.
MV: How has serving in Congress affected your personal life and family?
Kilili: Representing the Northern Mariana Islands in Congress as its first delegate is the singular honor of my public life. But there were personal sacrifices as well. When my father died, I was working in Washington, not by his side. I have missed births and deaths, weddings and anniversaries.
Despite my absence from home over half the year, for 16 years, my family has never stopped loving me and supporting me. I could not have done this without my family. I am so grateful to them all.
MV: If you could write a letter to your younger self at the start of your first term, what advice would you include?
Kilili: I would never tell my younger self anything. I would want him to be terrified of failure. Fear of failure kept me going, fear I would not be the representative the people needed and expected.
MV: What are your plans for retirement, and will you remain involved in politics or public service? What hobbies or interests are you looking forward to pursuing in retirement?
Kilili: [My wife] Andrea will find things she will want us to do together. And there are many local worthwhile community causes that one can join and help as a volunteer.
Former U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan wishes his successor, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, well.
MV: What advice can you give to your successor?
I wish her well.
MV: If you could leave one message for the next generation of leaders, what would it be?
Kilili: Sorry about the whole global warming, climate crisis thing.
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan served as the CNMI’s first congressional delegate from Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2025.
