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Guam Ethics Commission Executive Director Nico Fujikawa on Friday shared plans for developing Guam’s first “trust” barometer, which is going to be a baseline of how successful the commission is going forward. “It’ll put a numeric value on community trust, and it allows us to track that sentiment and then act accordingly. The idea is to measure public sentiment on government agencies to get an idea on the pulse of community on trust and transparency,” Fujikawa said. “What we’re trying to do is provide guidance from an ethics standpoint on how to enhance public trust.” The commission was supposed to have a meeting on Friday, but didn’t have a quorum. However, Fujikawa asked the members present, chairwoman Daphne Leon Guerrero, commissioner Meg Tyquiengco, and the board’s new program coordinators Kristin James and Chellsea Anderson, to remain for an informational session about administrative and operational updates. Fujikawa, in talking about the trust barometer, said the commission operates in the currency of trust, but it does not presently have a way of measuring it. The barometer will allow the Guam Ethics Commission to work with government agencies “that may or may not have the public’s support” on how they are managing fiscal responsibility, community engagement, accessibility, and using those different fields to give an overall trust measurement, he said. Budget appropriations to develop the trust barometer are projected to be $50,000 to $100,000, because the barometer will be the first of its kind, Fujikawa added. “There is a lot of investment that goes into structuring that instrument, and we want to make sure that we collect a representative sample from the community to the tune of 5,000 to 10,000 people, if not more,” Fujikawa said. It is to be modeled after the Edelman trust barometer, which has gauged global trust in institutions for the last 25 years. Needing new commissioners Leon Guerrero said a fully staffed board is necessary, especially after losing two commissioners in May, Shannon Murphy and Marilyn Borja. The board’s minimum required to achieve quorum is four commissioners, which makes consistency difficult with only four currently active. “If we as a board can’t have a quorum to make a decision, then it hamstrings us,” Leon Guerrero said. Fujikawa said the governor has confirmed one new commissioner to join the board, and he has two other names pending review. Besides the trust barometer and the need for new commissioners, Fujikawa also discussed the budget for fiscal year 2026, upcoming training, notices of complaints, and plans for legislation and outreach.
