SAIPAN — Gubernatorial candidate Dr. Lawrence Fejeran Camacho laid out a public lands-centered economic vision Monday on Good Morning Marianas, pledging to revitalize Lower Base one warehouse at a time through a program that would put Northern Marianas Descent entrepreneurs on idle public land, days after the first all-candidates debate of the 2026 race.
Camacho, the former Commissioner of Education, grounded his platform in Section 805 of the Covenant and Articles 11 and 12 of the NMI Constitution, arguing public lands were returned to protect them from outside exploitation and to generate revenue for present and future generations through the Marianas Public Land Trust. “The Public Lands Trust is supposed to take that money, and their sole responsibility is to make sure that the inheritance is grown,” he said.
He pointed to Lower Base as the place to start. “I feel like I just want to throw up when I’m driving through that, because there’s a lot of buildings that are just kind of running down, and these are sitting on public lands,” Camacho said, describing dilapidated warehouses beside the harbor in what he called the Commonwealth’s intended industrial hub. “We’re going to take one warehouse at a time, refurbish it, and then be able to then invite NMDs to the table.”
Under the model he described, local entrepreneurs would operate on refurbished public land with support wrapped around them from the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority, the college and the school system. “We want our people, the NMDs, to be also competing against the outside folks that come in and invest,” he said.
The candidate took a live call from Gregorie Michael Towai, who asked whether a Camacho administration would commit to identifying abandoned and underutilized public lands that qualify as brownfields, pursuing federal EPA assessment and cleanup grants, establishing a government-wide inventory of eligible sites and designating an office to aggressively pursue the funds. “Yes, absolutely,” Camacho said. “Those are the first steps that need to happen. We need to make sure that that foundation is there before we start inviting our own NMD entrepreneurs to the table.”
A viewer comment from Ray Lizama noted DPL received a Brownfields grant in 2017 but needs staff with expertise in the federal grants. Camacho pointed to the Marianas Resort property in Marpi as a symbol of the problem. “Every time I see someone cutting the grass there, it’s like cha-ching, cha-ching. It’s expenses to DPL, but it’s not gaining anything,” he said, referencing the failed transaction that he said left the property idle for years.
Camacho characterized the casino era as “an artificial growth of economic condition” and “really like instant gratification,” saying his administration would pursue growth “in a way where it’s not as artificial as it was in the past.”
Pressed by a viewer on when residents would see revenue gains, Camacho said “a couple of industries are right at the doorstep” without naming them, and said his team would target “low-hanging fruit” to deliver visible progress, whether halfway through the term or by its end. Challenged by another viewer to move past talking points, and presented with the host’s suggestion of assessing property taxes within a special economic zone to address blighted private property in Garapan’s tourist core, Camacho said the scale of the problem has to be measured first. “Before we make decisions on the problem, we have to know the magnitude of that problem,” he said. “We have to be able to see the numbers.”
On deep sea mining, Camacho called development a national strategic objective that will happen regardless of local opposition and said he supports Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds’ push for a 50-50 federal revenue split. “It’s going to be a lot of money and we want to be a part of it,” he said.
Camacho also said the Chamorro and Carolinian language and heritage programs should extend beyond the public school system, with the State Board of Education working toward statutory requirements that bring private schools into preservation efforts. “The students are from here as well,” he said. “The language and the heritage and the culture is fading. They’re part of that.”
Reflecting on Saturday’s Northern Marianas Descent Corporation debate, moderated by Dr. Robert Underwood, Camacho said he hopes the organization releases its recording in full. Media outlets were not permitted to record the forum. “I hope they release it unedited and just lay it out there the way it was,” he said. “It’s not fair to see an edited version.”
Camacho is running alongside his running mate, Edith Deleon Guerrero, in the 2026 gubernatorial race.
