We are in the midst of the mid-term elections. Unfortunately, incumbents and some candidates are career politicians accustomed to making promises without consequence. We, as voters, have enabled this through a selective memory - we have allowed their lies to be repeated at every election. In this culture, such promises carry no cost, because the only accountability would be to not re-elect them. But family ties, favoritism and buying of votes by some candidates, makes our people set aside principles and a vision for a better future for the island.

It would be a powerful lesson if, this time, we looked past old loyalties and evaluated leaders by a single ethical standard: Does their record match their rhetoric? As the saying goes, "Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching." I intend to hold our candidates to that standard.

My approach in this election is simple:

(1) Those who promised and did not deliver have shown that they cannot be trusted with the public interest and should be trashed. What does not serve the common good should not obstruct progress.
(2)Those who fulfilled their commitments have demonstrated accountability and deserve consideration for a first or second chance.
(3)Those rare individuals who delivered more than they promised have shown true servant leadership. Their reward should be greater responsibility to help our island advance, including serving as Directors in the administration where they are needed most.

This SHOULD BE a merit-based system, but it is not. A merit-based system eliminates those who do not live up to their words and allows us to focus our time and resources on those who do. As another principle states, "Trust is earned when actions meet words."

When we remain silent in the face of empty promises, we invite contempt. Some promises become so detached from reality that they resemble the old joke: a politician promises a bridge where there is no river, and when reminded, replies, "We will bring you a river as well." That is the perception some politicians have created.

I have been on the receiving end of such promises, and I will no longer accept being underestimated. My hope is that we can all adopt a pro-island, not pro-empty-promise, mindset. We can accomplish a great deal with limited resources if we are honest, hardworking, and future-focused. Honesty begins with not deceiving the voter.

For over 50 years, I built my career in the fishing industry. I rose in a multinational corporation from assistant to a General Manager to General Manager of Fishing Development, then General Manager of Business for all of Latin America, and Vice President of Caribbean Company. I acquired and managed a fleet of eight tuna vessels here in Samoa, developed processing plants in Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Costa Rica, and assisted the Togiola Administration in bringing a plant to American Samoa.

With that experience, since the Togiola Administration, I have not been invited to a single development meeting nor appointed to any development commission - not even in fisheries, where I have dedicated my life's work. It suggests a preference for creating offices and adding desks over creating real development.

When I arrived on this island over 30 years ago, the population was 75k. Today it is perhaps 45k, while other communities - Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Fijian, and others - continue to grow.

To this day, we have received significant support from our sponsors, yet we have taken few steps toward economic self-sufficiency. We must ask ourselves honestly: Is it fear? A lack of forward-thinking? An absence of visionary leaders—and of citizens who demand vision? Or simple complacency?

We must ask: Are we moving forward? Are we standing still? Or are we moving backward?

The answer is clear: We are not electing the leaders our island truly needs.

What do we need? Leaders who walk the talk - leaders whose principles, ethics, and actions are aligned.

Do we have such leaders in American Samoa? If we do, we must vote for them, and only for them. I will do my part to help identify them. I invite you to LIKE, FOLLOW and SHARE my writings, to help our islands.

CARLOS SANCHEZ