Will There Be a Future for Them Here?

September 14, 2026

Like many parents in the CNMI, my wife and I raised our children hoping they would get a good

education, find meaningful careers, build families of their own, and someday contribute to the

islands that raised them.

But there is a difficult question we don't talk about enough: What are we asking them to come

home to?

One of my daughters earned her degree in medical administration. She wanted to stay close to her

family, so she applied for a position with a government agency here at home. She waited seven

months before receiving an answer. During that time, she received multiple job offers in the States.

She turned them down because she wanted to remain close to her family and build her life here.

But love of home can only ask someone to wait so long. Eventually, she left.

I don't share her story to criticize one agency or one person. I share it because I suspect many

families in the CNMI have a similar story. Maybe it's a son who went away to college and never

came back. Maybe it's a daughter who wanted to return but couldn't find a job in her field. Maybe

it's a young couple who realized they could earn more and build a more secure future somewhere

else.

These are not always people who wanted to leave. Sometimes they simply reached a point where

staying, or coming home, no longer made sense.

This past month, my wife and I took our son to college. In one of those quiet moments that parents

remember, my son and I were walking together through a new city when he asked me a simple

question:

"Dad, will there be a job for me when I come home?"

I wish I could tell you that I immediately said yes. I couldn't. I told him that I hoped this year our

people would choose representatives based not simply on names, friendships, political alliances or

promises, but on what those candidates can contribute toward building the CNMI's future.

Then I told my son the truth: "I don't know." That answer bothered me. A father should be able to

tell his child that if he works hard, gets an education and wants to come home, there will be an

opportunity for him.

We tell our young people to study hard. We encourage them to go to college, Start Smart at NMC,

learn a trade at NMTI, earn certifications, develop skills and prepare themselves for the future.

But what happens when they do exactly what we ask of them? Are we creating enough

opportunities for them to build that future here?

And this challenge isn't only about bringing our children home after college. It is also about

keeping the talented young people we educate and train right here in the CNMI.

When employers in Guam, Hawaii, the mainland and elsewhere can offer better pay, relocation

assistance and a clearer path forward, we should not be surprised when our young people take

those opportunities. We have to give them compelling reasons to stay and to build their careers,

raise their families and invest their futures here at home.

At the same time, we should recognize the local businesses that continue to invest in the CNMI,

keep their doors open through difficult economic times, and provide opportunities for our people.

Many of these businesses are doing everything they can to hire, train and retain local workers while

facing the daily challenge of simply keeping their doors open and their employees working.

We cannot talk about creating jobs for our young people without also talking about helping the

businesses that create those jobs.

Government cannot guarantee the success of every business, nor should it try. But government can

help create an environment where businesses have a fighting chance to succeed.

That means listening to the people who sign paychecks. It means removing unnecessary barriers,

making permitting and government processes faster and more predictable, encouraging

investment, supporting entrepreneurs, and finding practical ways to reduce the cost and difficulty

of doing business in the CNMI.

Because when our local businesses grow, they can hire more people. They can offer better wages.

They can provide training and advancement. And they can create more reasons for our young

people to stay.

A healthy CNMI needs a strong private sector.

We need an economy where existing businesses can expand, entrepreneurs are encouraged rather

than discouraged, new investment is welcomed, and industries that create professional, vocational

and technical careers have a reason to establish themselves here.

Government must also do better itself. When a qualified young person must wait seven months

just to learn whether there is a place for them here, while employers elsewhere are actively

recruiting them, we should not be surprised when they leave.The mainland doesn't have to convince our children to leave. Too often, we are making that decision easier for them.

And when one of our young people leaves, we lose more than another resident.

We may lose a future nurse who would have cared for our elderly, an accountant who would have

helped a local business grow, an engineer who would have helped build our infrastructure, a

teacher who would have taught the next generation, a skilled tradesperson our community

desperately needs, or an entrepreneur who would have opened a business and created jobs.

And eventually, we may lose the generation after them. Their children grow up thousands of miles

away from their grandparents, extended families and the islands their parents once called home.

That is how a community slowly loses its next generation.

If we want our children to come home, and if we want those who are already here to stay, we have

to give them something real to build their lives around: good jobs, competitive wages, affordable

places to live, a growing private sector, opportunities based on ability and merit, and a government

that respects people's time and understands that economic growth must be more than a campaign

talking point.

I am running for the House of Representatives because I believe government should be judged, in

part, by a very simple measure: Are we making it easier or harder for our children to build their futures here?

I want the day to come when another CNMI mother or father is walking with their son or daughter

on a college campus and hears the same question my son asked me: "Will there be a job for me

when I come home?" And I want that parent to be able to answer without hesitation: "Yes. Come

home. There is a future for you here."

That is the CNMI we should be working to build. Not simply a place our children are proud to call

home, but a place where they can afford to choose home.