'I refuse to be ambushed by a biased forum:' Moylan shuns debate hosted by Guam lawyers group
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The incumbent attorney general, whose bid for reelection is being challenged in a five-way race, has opted to skip an upcoming debate organized by the Guam Bar Association, alleging the group is biased against him.
“I’d rather spend this time working with my team winning criminal trials to keep our people safe," Douglas Moylan said.
His challengers, Phillip J. Tydingco, Jordan L. Pauluhn, Thomas J. Fisher and Peter J. Santos, are joining the debate, which GBA will co-host with Guam Bar Justice Foundation on Sept. 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Central Community Arts Hall at the Sinajaña Mayor's Office.
“I refuse to be ‘ambushed’ by a biased moderating forum with financial conflicts of interest and an ‘axe to grind’ against me for doing my job for our people (my client),” Moylan said, explaining his decision to pass up the GBA president’s invitation.
According to GBA’s press release, all candidates who qualified for the attorney general race were invited to participate on equal terms, with identical instructions and deadlines sent to each campaign.
“An informed electorate is essential to the strength of our democracy,” said Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje, president of GBA and the Justice Foundation.
“This event gives the community a rare opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, in their own words, on the issues shaping the future of Guam's legal system,” she added.
Santos has been in public service for 33 years, having served as a police officer, prosecutor, public defender and Army lawyer.
Tydingco has served as chief prosecutor for 25 years.
Pauluhn, who currently runs his own law practice, has served as assistant attorney general and legal counsel for Guam Memorial Hospital.
Fisher previously served in the prosecution division of the Office of the Attorney General and as a senator in the 37th Guam Legislature.
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Moylan said Terlaje should have "properly removed herself from hosting this debate,” noting her previous attempts to have him sanctioned in court in several cases.
While confirming his participation in forums organized by other groups, Moylan declined to speak before his colleagues in the legal sector, who he said have treated him unfavorably.
“Unfortunately, for the past four years, certain controlling leaders of the Guam Bar Association hijacked my own professional association and tried to remove me from important criminal cases in my duty to protect our people, mischaracterized the truth, and actively tried to unseat me as the people’s democratically-elected attorney general,” he said.
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Earlier, GBA released the results of a survey conducted among lawyers, showing Tydingco as the preferred candidate for attorney general and Moylan as the least favored.
Moylan dismissed the survey as a reflection of a “minority of members.”
The attorney general serves a four-year term.
Moylan was the first elected attorney general after the office was converted from an appointive to an elective position. He served from 2003 to 2007.
His subsequent attempts to return to office were unsuccessful until 2021, when he defeated the incumbent attorney general, Leevin Camacho, by 39 votes. He assumed office for his second term in January 2022.
Moylan said her four years in office secured 93 criminal jury trial wins, 875 criminal convictions and deportation of 115 criminal aliens.
The debate is open to the public; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The debate will be broadcast live on KUAM's YouTube channel and Facebook Live page, orcatch the broadcast on KUAM TV8 on Sept. 21, 2026.
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