Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In front of his banner of 2024 HOPE, Pula T.I. Nikolau Pula became the first to announce his candidacy for Governor of American Samoa in the 2024 gubernatorial race, yesterday, Monday, March 4, 2024. The media was invited to the special Meet & Greet that included a Q&A session with the candidate.

The Meet & Greet was a simple affair, with KVZK- TV cameras in the room, as well as radio and newspaper reporters. It opened with a prayer and introduction by one of Pula’s campaign members — later during the Q& A session, it was revealed that the 2024 HOPE campaign has not yet named its key personnel, including Campaign Director.

It was also revealed that Pula has not settled on a Lt. Governor candidate either. He did say he will announce it on Mar. 30, 2024, when he officially kicks off his campaign at the Fagatogo Village “Malaeoletalu” pavilion. He noted that there is still 8 months until election time and he was of the mind that such a decision should be made with forethought and patience.

Pula introduced his candidacy and explained in Samoan and English his background and reasons for running for governor.

He highlighted the 30+ years of work he has done at the Department of Interior — noting that these are the years of experience he brings to the table, which is in a sense a continuation of the tautua (service) to the people of American Samoa he has done at the federal level. 

Pula retired from federal service in 2022, and according to Pula, when asked about the 5-year residency requirement to run for local governor, his retirement meets the law, as his service at the federal level allows an exception to the residency requirement. He has also been given approval by the Chief Election Officer, as well as his lawyer checked all the requirements necessary to run for such an office.

The candidate was born in 1956, he announced, and he has roots on his father’s side from the village of Leone and on his mother’s side from the villages of Pago Pago, Fagatogo and Utulei. He was born at the ‘old’ LBJ Hospital, he said and his education spans graduating in 1974 from Marist Brothers as Valedictorian, and continuing his higher education in the U.S. — BYU and George Mason University, Virginia.

He mentioned his work with Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, in Washington, D.C, and his work with then American Samoa’s Congressman Fofo I.F. Sunia’s office. His over 30 years at the DOI began in 1993, as a policy desk officer of the DOI- OIA, culminating as the first Samoan selected as Director of the Office of Insular Affairs in later years.

Pula touched on his candidacy as embraced by the acronym HOPE — Honest governance; Offer quality health care; Provide exceptional educational; Expansion of economic growth. His said, their website: HOPE2024.com that was launched yesterday, late afternoon, explores the directions he wants to bring to local government and can expand on his answers.

He was asked during the Q&A session about his target voters. Pula replied that while he is looking at all votes as important, he sees the 18-years old to 35-years old as his core, or those voters that are having to make decisions to balance aganu’u vs. daily lives. He especially spoke of the drug problem with the youth and young working adults that needs to be addressed.

Pula also briefly touched on other issues that reporters brought up during the Q& A session, including fair government, pointing at awards to small businesses vs. the ‘big boys’ — mentioning Paramount Builders and Nana’s Construction — as the need to ‘redistribute wealth’, and that definitely he would be concentrating on bringing new money, more jobs and more economic growth to the territory.

Of the new hospital that the government is pushing to build, Pula pointed at the US Army Corp of Engineers’ report that estimated a new hospital up at around $900 million dollars. He said as far as he’s heard, the government doesn’t have that kind of money — however, if he’s elected, he’ll look at it in terms of money on hand — would it be a viable project.

The announcement ended with a luncheon and sit down with the candidate.