When you challenge those in power on a small island, people ask: “Why do you keep doing this? Why put yourself out there when you take such heavy hits?”
The answer is simple: That is exactly why I must keep speaking up.
Our community has nearly 50,000 residents, but only a small number of elected officials. Those officials are public servants. They work for us, not the other way around.
My purpose in writing opinion pieces and reviewing public records has never been personal. It is about encouraging an active, informed, and engaged citizenry. A healthy democracy cannot survive when people become apathetic, cynical, or, worst of all, afraid to speak.
That fear is very real.
Over the decades that I have spoken out about public corruption and government accountability in the CNMI, I have paid a significant personal price. I have been fired from my job twice because of my outspoken opposition to official corruption. All four tires on my vehicle were slashed while I was inside giving testimony during a legislative impeachment hearing. I have received explicit death threats and endured relentless personal attacks for doing nothing more than presenting facts, reviewing public documents, and asking difficult questions.
Recently, a Facebook user posted this message beneath one of the published opinion pieces:
“One needs to be very careful with the use of certain language when expressing personal attacks on certain individuals. Dirty politics can easily get you into big trouble especially when you are only regurgitating without prove. There’s no place in the CNMI you can hide when Team T/J wins the election. Is your job truly secured for going all out in support of your political candidates and then your party does not win? … Be very cautious with party line voting, it could lead to more sufferings for you and your family.”
Let us be clear about how a message like that can reasonably be understood: It is intended to intimidate. It invokes the possibility of retaliation against someone’s job, family, and ability to live peacefully in the community. It sends the message that people who speak out may face consequences if the “right” political team takes office.
That is not how public service works. That is not how democracy works. And that is not the CNMI we should accept.
If the purpose of messages like this, or the retaliatory firings, property damage, and threats I have experienced over the years, is to make me back down, it has the opposite effect. It hardens my resolve.
When political supporters tell citizens that “there’s no place you can hide,” or suggest that political disagreement could bring “more sufferings for you and your family,” they expose a dangerous view of government. They treat public office not as a responsibility to serve the people, but as a tool for political control. They substitute fear and retaliation for transparency, accountability, and respect for the public.
To anyone who believes intimidation will work: I have stood my ground through retaliatory firings, property damage, and threats. I will not be intimidated now. I will not be silenced.
The information I share is not rumor, gossip, or “dirty politics.” It comes from certified and verifiable public records: sworn testimony from the House JGO impeachment hearings; joint legislative findings concerning the $17 million BOOST grant program; and the $163 million in questioned costs identified in the long-delayed Single Audits (FY20, FY21, FY22, FY23).
Discussing documented misspending, unrecorded equipment, and delayed or incomplete federal audit matters is not “regurgitating without prove [sic].” It is the responsibility of every citizen who believes public funds must be protected and public officials must answer to the people.
Direct threats of political retaliation are easy to spot. But there is another force in our community that is just as dangerous, perhaps even more evil, to the encouraging of an active citizenry.
It is the subtle, quiet pressure from those who tell us to “not rock the boat.”
It is found in private chat groups where people are urged to stay quiet, calm down, or accept governance failures because “that’s just how things are.” It is found in well-meaning advice telling frustrated citizens that fighting corruption is meaningless. It is seen when people accept obvious abuse of power simply because they fear being social outcasts, or when colleagues urge a whistleblower to put the whistle away because calling out wrongdoing might make others uncomfortable.
It is also found in media reports that claim to be “journalism,” yet selectively report half-truths to shield favored political figures while undermining those who demand answers.
Those who whisper “stay quiet” do not wear the mask of a bully, but they accomplish the bully’s goal. They convince an entire community to tolerate the intolerable. They normalize the erosion of our public trust. By telling citizens that speaking up is pointless or dangerous, they pave the way for misgovernance to thrive unchecked.
I know I am not the only person who receives these messages or feels this pressure. Many have shared their stories with me.
There are employees who worry about their jobs. There are business owners concerned about losing contracts. There are teachers, professionals, families, and ordinary citizens who choose silence because they fear losing their livelihood, their opportunities, or their social standing.
To all of them, I say this: Do not let fear, or comfortable silence, win.
If political fear and passive compliance dictate our silence, we surrender the future of our Commonwealth. We allow those who misuse power to operate without scrutiny. We teach our children that standing up for what is right is dangerous and not necessary.
We are a community nearly 50,000 strong. No candidate, campaign, political party, or faction owns these islands, or the people who call them home.
On Election Day, and every day before and after it, your voice is your power. Use it. Look at the evidence. Ask questions. Demand accountability. And never allow anyone, whether through threats or quiet pressure, to bully or convince you into silence.
Glen Hunter
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of NMI News Service.
