Potential List of Democratic Senatorial Candidates

1. Thomas C. Ada - Incumbent
2. James Aevermann - Challenger
3. Benedicto C. Toves - Challenger
4. Frank B. Aguon Jr. - Challenger
5. Tim Aguon - Challenger
6. Phillipe Cruz - Challenger
7. Gary Gumataotao - Challenger
8. Judith Guthertz - Incumbent
9. Sedfrey Linsangan - Challenger
10. Tina Muna-Barnes - Incumbent
11. Leah Beth Naholowaa - Challenger
12. Adolpho Palacios - Incumbent
13. Vicente Pangelinan - Incumbent
14. Dennis Rodriguez - Incumbent
15. Joe San Agustin - Challenger
16. Michael San Nicolas - Challenger
17. Judith T. Won Pat - Incumbent
18. Benjamin Cruz - Incumbent
19. Rory Respicio - Incumbent

5 more days until candidate packets are due for most offices up for election this year

5 more days until candidate packets are due for most offices up for election this year.

Once we have a clear idea as to who is running for what, the first changes to our preliminary base ratings for Mayors, Vice Mayors, Public Auditor and Guam Delegate will be updated.

Also, we will start listing who we feel (based on past election results and perceived candidate strengths) are the top candidates in descending order on both the Democratic and Republican ballots for the Guam Legislature. These lists will be updated every other week until the September primary election.

Preliminary Base Rating for Public Auditor Race

Preliminary Base Rating for Public Auditor Race

Doris F. Brooks - INCUMBENT
Zenaida Asuncion-Nace - CHALLENGER*

LIKELY BROOKS


*Asuncion-Nace has only picked up candidate packet, preliminary rating is subject to whether she actually turns in her candidate forms.

More individuals picking up candidate packets

As the deadline for the submittal of candidate packets rapidly approaches, more individuals (both incumbents and challengers) have been picking up candidate packets for a variety of offices.

-Raymond Mundo - Challenger - Democrat - Mayor of Mangilao
-Judith T. Won Pat - Incumbent - Democrat - Senator
-James Espaldon - Challenger - Republican - Senator
-Michael San Nicolas - Challenger - Democrat - Senator
-Thomas Morrison - Challenger - Republican - Senator
-Sedfrey Linsangan - Challenger - Democrat - Senator
-Gilbert Q. Aguon - Challenger - Republican - Mayor of Umatac
-Frank Cabrera - Challenger - Independent - Mayor of Piti
-Adonis Mendiola - Challenger - Republican - Senator
-Shirley Mabini - Incumbent - Republican - Senator
-Committee to Draft Cynthia Eclavea - Challenger - Democrat - Vice Mayor of Sinajana
-Thomas Ada - Incumbent - Democrat - Senator
-Committee to Draft Jesse P. Bautista - Challenger - Democrat - Vice Mayor of Barrigada
-Glenn V. San Nicolas - Challenger - Republican - Vice Mayor of Tamuning
-Anthony Ada - Incumbent - Republican - Senator

(per the GEC website)

Opposition to a part time Legislature

Opposition to a part time Legislature

Recently there has been a push by a small group of people to turn the Guam Legislature into a part time body.  Their justification for this is to reduce the expenses necessary to fund a full time Legislature and to reduce the numbers of bills and resolutions that are passed each year. They also say that there are a lot of state legislatures on the U.S. mainland that are part time, and have been a success. We here at Guam Politics and Happenings strongly oppose the idea of turning the Legislature into a part time body for several important reasons:

What works for other states won’t necessarily work for Guam = A majority of the states that utilize part time Legislatures are states that have little important business other than passing a budget, legislative redistricting, and confirming the executive’s cabinet appointees. Occasionally the legislature would be called into a special session to address issues that have come up into the public view. This is all good and well for these states, and all the power to them for that. However, Guam is entirely different from the jurisdictions that have part time legislatures. Those states do not sit on the doorstep of Asia with potential conflicts that may brew up at any time nor do those states do not rely almost entirely on tourists from the surrounding countries. Those states do not have to constantly address land issues on an island only 30 miles in size. Natural disasters that may impact the island AT ANY TIME and which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fix do not regularly and consistently impact those states. Those states are not late in paying their tax refunds to their residents or are deficient in services that members of a full time Legislature have to fix whenever such problems come up.

And what about that “huge” numbers of bills and resolutions that are passed each year? Most of the bills and resolutions are technical in nature, attempting to modernize Guam’s aging system of laws. There are also important laws that are passed that serve to emphasize the position of the Legislative Branch as an equal and entirely separate branch of government. If there is a push to reduce the powers of the Legislature, then there needs to be a corresponding push to reduce the powers of the Governor. Any person can tell you that in our democratic system of government, the Executive Branch is checked by the Legislative Branch, and no one branch is supreme above all. If the people supporting the reduction of powers and responsibility of the Guam Legislature get their way, an all powerful Executive Branch is exactly what we will have. 

Bordallo officially files for candidacy / Public Auditor announces run for a new term

The past few days here on Guam has been quite active, with the deadline to turn in all candidate packets to the Guam Election Commission fast approaching. A summary:

-Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D) files her candidacy for another term as Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

-Doris F. Brooks has announced her intention to seek a new term as Public Auditor.

-Michael San Nicolas (D) has picked up candidate packet for senator, despite his signs being up for quite a while.

A detailed list of candidates who have filed their candidacies can be found online at the Guam Election Commission website, but some of the more notable candidates who have filed so far include

1. Melissa Savares - Incumbent - Democrat - Mayor of Dededo

2. Derick B. Hills - Challenger - Democrat - Vice Mayor of Agat

3. Madeleine Bordallo - Incumbent - Democrat - U.S. Delegate

4. Andrew Benavente - Incumbent - Democrat - Vice Mayor of Dededo

5. Vicente Gumataotao - Incumbent - Republican - Mayor of Piti

6. Frank Blas, Jr. - Challenger - Republican - U.S. Delegate

The deadline to turn in candidate packets is fast approaching, and we will be updating our race ratings shortly after.

The Guam Education Policy Board

Over the past few months, the Guam Education Policy Board has been the target of sustained criticism and protests over their unilateral decision (which they have the authority to do but in this case completely botched it) to add more classes to high school schedules. I say botched because they failed to get the opinions of those (teachers, students, parents) who would be affected by it the most and instead went ahead and rammed through a change of policy without (seemingly) bothering to look at the negatives that would accompany such a drastic change.

The composition of the Guam Education Policy Board should revert to a fully elected Board instead of one dominated by members appointed by the Governor. This would bring more accountability and transparency in decisions that the policy making body of the largest government agency on Guam makes instead of making decisions made solely at the whim of partisan politics.

We here at Guam Politics and Happenings call on the Legislature to immediately enact legislation to the effect called for in the above paragraph, as well as requiring that Board members MUST allow at least ten working days to receive testimony from the public before enacting any changes to policy.