Independent team 'will give Guam the change it needs,' Pleadwell says

Jeffrey Pleadwell and Charlie Hermosa

 By Jayvee Vallejera

In 1986, Jeff Pleadwell ran for governor of Guam. He was 38 at the time.

“I'm 78 now, and all the problems that I saw and why I wanted to run in 1986 are still here or even worse today because of politics,” said Pleadwell, the owner of Jeff's Pirates Cove restaurant, a landmark in Talofofo.

Pleadwell is running with businessman and former Marine officer Charlie Hermosa on an Independent ticket with a 10-plank platform focused on making the "government work for the people and not the people work for the government."

Pleadwell said the Independent team envisions a rightsized government that hires the right people and places them in the right positions.

The Pleadwell-Hermosa tandem will submit their election packets to the Guam Election Commission as soon as they meet the required number of signatures on their nominating petitions.

Under Guam law, a gubernatorial team must secure a minimum of 500 signatures to make it to the primary ballot.

“We have enough signatures, but we want to have more than enough,” Pleadwell told the Pacific Island Times.

Despite a lack of party machinery, Pleadwell and Hermosa hope to surmount the barriers and appeal to those who are weary of traditional politics.

The Independent ticket “will give you the change you need,” Pleadwell said.

While stressing that he is not a politician and not well-connected in government, Pleadwell said he runs a successful business. So does Hermosa, the president and co-founder of Bella Wings Aviation.

Pleadwell said he intends to tap their combined business acumen to run an efficient government that benefits ordinary citizens.

He said he and Hermosa would run the government of Guam like a business, “not like a spoil system where everybody's getting huge raises for agencies that aren't really performing that well.”

“The government needs help. The people here have lost control. It's become an elite government, where the average employee doesn't have as much,” he said. 

He said fewer Guam voters participated in the last election because of a lack of trust in the candidates, and that people do not see the government changing anytime soon.

“I give a whole new view of what's fair and what could happen,” he said.

He proposes the possible privatization of certain services, educational improvements and tax and procurement reforms.

“We want to use common sense and make everything work for a better quality of life for everybody here,” he added.

Pleadwell and Hermosa are the only Independent candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor.

The law mandates the Guam Election Commission to "reconfigure the ballot as necessary" to accommodate the names of "qualified candidates who are not members of either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party."

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Three teams are seeking the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 1 primary: Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio with running mate Sen. Tina Muna Barnes; Sen. Therese Terlaje with Sen. Sabina Perez; and Sen. Joe San Agustin with former senator Dwyane San Nicolas.

On the Republican side, Sen. Tony Ada and his running mate, businessman EJ Calvo, will face off against Sen. Frank Blas Jr. and his running mate, Mary Okada, the retiring president of Guam Community College.

Under Guam law, the gubernatorial team receiving a plurality of votes cast in the partisan primary advances to the general election.

To be eligible for the general election ballot placement, an Independent team must receive at least 20 percent of the total combined votes cast for the winning teams seeking partisan nomination.

(With additional frepirts from Mar-Vic Cagurangan)

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