In their words: Guam's gubernatorial teams impart views on governance, transparency and public policy

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Beyond slogans and catchphrases, where do gubernatorial candidates stand on governance, economic development and public policy?

At the Guam Chamber of Commerce's two consecutive forums held in June, gubernatorial teams shared their perspectives on key issues affecting Guam and how they intend to deliver results if elected.

Republicans will pick their nominees for governor and lieutenant governor between two teams: Frank Blas Jr. with Mary Okada and Tony Ada with EJ Calvo.

Three teams are vying for the Democratic nomination: Therese Terlaje with Sabina Perez, Joe San Agustin with Dwayne San Nicolas, and Joshua Tenorio with Tina Muna Barnes.

Here are some snapshots from the chamber’s forums held at the Guam Hilton Resort on June 24 and 24:

Blas-Okada: "For a Better Guam"

Blas: Government accountability must be nonnegotiable. Business cannot thrive in an environment where rules shift without warning, where approvals take months instead of days and where transparency is treated as optional.      

Accountability is not about blame; it is about performance. It is about building a government that is predictable, responsive and worthy of the trust it asks the public to give. If economic growth and competitiveness demand modernization.

We need streamlined permitting, digital government services, reliable infrastructure and a workforce strategy that matches the pace of regional and technological change.

Okada: What we would do is identify a pay-for-performance model so that individuals who are actually executing programs in their respective agencies are held accountable for all the things that they do. Not everybody works at the same level; they shouldn't all be paid at the same level.

With the increased funding that is available, government services should be increasing because if you invest in modernization, digitization, or innovation, you will receive and earn more return on your investment than if you were just to let everything go to status quo.

Ada-Calvo: “Guam First”

Ada: The issue is not about funding; it's about whether our government can effectively manage, prioritize and deliver.    

Whenever an agency lapses its funds, it should not count on that revenue in the next fiscal year when it budgets.

That should go back into the general fund and not be a part of their expenditures because that is how we can control the budget more precisely. Every dollar should have a purpose and every public official should understand that they work for the people of Guam.

Calvo: If you didn't use your funding for that fiscal year, then one or two things are obvious. One, you didn't need it to begin with. Or two, you just couldn't spend it. So with that, we have to ensure that each agency is properly budgeted, goes through the process and properly expends the funds that are given to them.

Tenorio-Muna Barnes: “Let's Go Guam”

Tenorio: The future of Guam is very dynamic and in order to take advantage of every single opportunity and avoid every peril, you have to have a mature relationship with our federal government.

You have to be in the room to get and lobby for military support so that we can shepherd unprecedented investment in our infrastructure, make our power gridlines more resilient, and secure hospital funding.

We also have to pay very strategic attention to our primary economic driver: tourism. Our intention as a team is to empower and partner with the experts in the private sector to shepherd us through these perils.

Muna Barnes: What do we have to offer to the rest of the world? That is our hospitality. That’s what we've been blessed with and that’s what we can share. With all the ingredients, I think that if we continue to work together and give Guam the blessings that it needs, we will be safe.

Terlaje-Perez: “Vote for Guam”

Terlaje: We have to have the online permitting once and for all. We need to ensure that all of our government services and contracts are online, that we are monitoring them for value, for deliverables, for the deadlines and we're monitoring when they need to be renewed so that we don't end up with a situation where, at Rev and Tax, we’re unable to process online because of nonrenewal of the contract.

All government production should be online and viewable to the public, so the public can hold these agencies accountable and hold us all accountable for the work we're trying to do.

Perez: There's a cliff that's going to come within five years. So how do we capitalize on the economy today? Additive manufacturing is really critical to assist with any of the military operations here. So that is something that we look forward to. Investment in these particular types of manufacturing can help our island diversify.

As an educator, I see there is an opportunity to expand pre-apprenticeship in the middle and high schools and this is something that we really need to expand very urgently and quickly.

San Agustin-San Nicolas: “Together We Can”

San Agustin: Everybody talks about one-stop (permitting and licensing process), right? Everybody goes there, but it's not a one-stop; it's almost a hang-around-for-a-while program.

That's going to change in our administration. We're going to have to take a look at the process when you apply for a permit. We need to look at the timetable and make sure that it's going to work.

We're going to create a checklist so that when you come to apply for a business license, you know what you need to do and what you need to turn it in. When you turn it in, we're hoping that within 48 hours, the process continues on to the next stage. If we get the digital system going and everything's online, you get to see the process moving, and you can demand an answer.

San Nicolas: Whether I was a school counselor or I was in the military, I always try to take care of people. It's always been my goal to make people happy. I've searched around to see where the happy places were. One of them is Finland.

The reason they're happy is because they trust their government. They take care of each other. Their economy is doing well. Their wages are higher. That's the kind of Guam I want to see. That's the kind of Guam I want to deliver for you.

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