Guam
People's Choice
Community Leaders Write Incoming Governor's To-Do List
Elections this year in Guam will see candidates vie for the offices of governor, attorney general, U.S. Congressional delegate and seats in the Legislature. As a result of the September 2nd primary election, one of each of the two Republican and two Democratic governor/ lieutenant governor teams will advance to the November 7 general election. Some 15 of the 21 Democratic candidates will also advance, as will two of the three candidates for attorney general, who have no party affiliation. Incumbent Congressional Delegate Madeleine Bordallo (Democrat) is running unopposed.
The Republicans fielded only 14 candidates for the 15-seat Legislature and did not participate in the primary election. The November ballot will also contain voter initiatives to raise the legal alcohol-drinking age from 18 to 21 and to legalize slot machine gambling at the Guam Greyhound Park.
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Bart Jackson, chairman of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association; general manager of the Pacific Islands Club (Guam’s largest hotel):
“Whoever comes in as the next governor has a great opportunity to move boldly and really keep Guam moving in the right direction. Guam clearly has made great strides but we really have a terribly long way to go. “Government appears to be very large and not as efficient as it can be. I’m not necessarily advocating a reduction in the size of the government, if it’s going to stay the same size then we have to figure out a way to make it more efficient, or conversely we can reduce the size and provide the same kinds of services. But one way or the other the efficiency of the government needs to improve. Then, as the economy moves forward, (we need) someone who’s going to help things move along so that the greatest number of people can participate in the prosperity of Guam.
“I’m very optimistic about the next several years and I think whomever it is that comes in has a great opportunity to keep us moving forward.”
Karen Storts, president of the Guam Contractors Association:
“It has taken a long time for the current governor to get things turned around from the economy that we were living with when he first came into office—he got hit with the typhoon and a lot of issues right at the beginning of his term. He is now to the point where he’s getting some forward momentum and I would hate to see that stop and have to go back to square one.“I would like to see the next governor, whoever it is continue with some of these programs that need to be moving forward. We need the road improvements, the island wide cleanup (junk car removal), the improvements to the infrastructure. We need to move forward; we cannot afford another setback.”
Sahara Defensor, president of the University of Guam Student Government Association:
“I’m a stickler for education, whether it’s at the university or kindergarten through grade 12. “Whatever issues are out there, whatever the problems are here in Guam, education is always the way to solve something. We have to be educated in order to find out what the problems are and how to really assess them, analyze the issues, and determine the best way to resolve them. So I think mostly it’s always about education.“Our education system is so complex –public, private, higher education—there are a myriad of problems that really need to be assessed, prioritized and resolved.”
Trini Torres, former magahaga (female leader) of the Chamorro Nation indigenous rights organization:
“Number one, war reparations. The bill that the congresswoman (Bordallo) introduced needs to be revised. The amount of money is too low and some of our people would get nothing or very little. The number of eligible survivors is very limited. It could help our people quite a bit and it’s something that we really deserve because the two nations, Japan and the U.S., fought the war here; it wasn’t our war yet we were tortured, some of us were killed, starved, force marched and our women were raped. There’s no response from the U.S. and also from Japan. I’ve written letters to both (the top officials of both countries).“Also, self-determination, our right to choose our political status. We are a colony and we need to decolonize ourselves. The U.S. has blocked the way every time. They’re obligated to finance and support us to exercise our self-determination, but they have managed to manipulate and block our way.
“Third is the (territorial) income tax refunds. That’s personal money taken from the people. They should pay that money with interest. But (they’re not even paying) with the basic amount. That goes back two years.”
Matt Rector, president of the Guam Federation of Teachers union (representing a growing number of government of Guam employees):
“The quality of life for all the people of Guam. The majority of the people of Guam live in poverty. The majority of the people of Guam are medically indigent and don’t have access to quality health care. This is just absurd. Whoever the governor is, and the Legislature, we need to work to address these. “It really isn’t that complicated. Currently, Guam is the lowest taxed place in the nation, bar none. It’s going to take some political will to change that because all the big companies don’t want to pay taxes. But hopefully we’ll have enough working people and enough working families motivated as a voting bloc to encourage politicians that they can get elected without the support of big corporations.”
Father Alberto Rodriguez, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana:
“First he should have good morality and should follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Especially the commandment that says ‘Do not kill.’ So it’s important to have someone who is against abortion, who is against euthanasia, who is against same-sex marriage because all these things are not right. Also, he should be against gambling because it destroys lives and it destroys families.”
