Copyright guampdn
I grew up on Guam in the ‘70s and ‘80s and left for school. After graduating high school, I returned and served as a Guam police officer for eight years before commissioning as an officer in the active-duty Army, returning in 2015. From what I have observed over the last 10 years living and working here on Guam after returning from active-duty military service, we need to get out of our own way. Egos and partisanship have stifled progress, and we have been paralyzed. This is costing us dearly. Today, I got an unexpected telephone call from an uncle who is off-island and in the Republic of Belau due to business. He, too, has lived on Guam most of his life, but as a businessman and active member of the community, not in government. He wanted to talk about my bid for attorney general and expressed his concerns about what has been going on in all sectors of the government of Guam, but most especially the Office of the Attorney General. He wanted to know what I was planning to do and he wanted to pledge his support, not because he’s my uncle, but he said because he has seen me develop from a young citizen of Guam and has always admired and respected how I serve with honor and distinction throughout my diverse career path, especially knowing my personal history and struggles with poverty during my childhood. He talked about how, in the private sector, there is great resentment and disappointment over how GovGuam operates. He said two words: Waste, inefficiency. I pushed back a little bit and reminded him that although there are tons of improvements still to be had, we have come a long way from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. He asked me what I, as attorney general, intend to do in my capacity as the attorney general. I first explained to him that I understand the role of the attorney general and what is mandated of the attorney general. The attorney general is non-partisan and although it is an elected position, the attorney general is not a politician. The attorney general is also not a policy maker and not a decision maker. That is the province of the Guam Legislature and the governor, respectively. I then shared with him that currently, my platform has three main prongs but is not limited to only the three prongs. It will continue to evolve. Revolutionize GovGuam procurement and fiscal operations by establishing a Procurement and Financials portal, which will exponentially increase government efficiency, transparency and accountability. I will advocate for a complete overhaul of procurement laws, rules, and regulations and leverage the latest technology to assist GovGuam do the work the people desire and need. All procurements will live in the portal, from solicitations to decisions, executions and record keeping. That way, the AG, the Office of Public Accountability and most importantly, the public, will have access to the information, thereby increasing transparency and accountability. All government spending will be required to be recorded in the portal. That way, the AG and OPA, and most importantly, the public, can see what is being spent by who, for what, when, where and why. The AG’s office will train, advise and monitor GovGuam agencies. This is part of my “preventative law” approach that will avoid problems in the first place. We should not wait till a problem has festered and needs to be criminally prosecuted. Rebuild and fortify the Office of the Attorney General, with an emphasis on criminal prosecution. The problems we have now are self-inflicted by the current AG. Despite his best efforts (although I firmly believe that he’s actually unethical and corrupt), he has decimated the entire office, effectively flatlining it, losing hundreds of personnel, and many combined decades of experience and institutional knowledge. Doug likes the moniker Eagle’s Nest, but it’s more of a Phoenix that has burned to ashes and will require the succeeding attorney general to rebuild from the ashes, because that’s all that’s left. Despite all the gaslighting, rhetoric and propaganda, criminal prosecution is dysfunctional. The most serious charges are getting acquitted, dismissed or overturned due to prosecutorial mishaps and misconduct. Only the least serious charges are getting convictions and are not technically a win because defendants had readily admitted to them. Doug Moylan is very cunning in the court of public opinion but dismally failing in the court of law. Barking and talking tough makes people feel good, but it is not justice when criminals are going unpunished because of inept prosecution. It adds insult to injury when Doug Moylan blatantly lies and misrepresents what is truly happening in our courts. Legal services to the government agencies are virtually non-existent, which is hampering services and has a severe detrimental effect on our private sector economy. Fix the Chamoru Land Trust, advance Indigenous rights and champion environmental protections. These areas have long been ignored by the Office of the Attorney General and need to be given attention and emphasis. The Chamoru Land Trust is not a true trust; it’s more of a land bank with the CHamoru Land Trust Commission serving more of an advisory role because the Guam Legislature can still raid it. The inventory of land needs to be categorized for residential, agriculture and commercial. The Guam Legislature needs to carve out a reserve of land for government use and the CHamoru Land Trust needs to be locked away under the exclusive control of the CLTC, whose members should be elected at large. Few people understand that under Guam’s current political status and lack of our own constitution, there are no indigenous rights that are recognized here on Guam. We need to explore what avenues are available to create and protect indigenous rights. Our lives literally depend on the quality of our land, our air and our water. Pollution, dumping and littering need to be addressed. There needs to be a culture change in our community and we need to crack down on violators. Of course, these are extremely ambitious goals, but I have the training and education but most of all, the experience tackling these kinds of goals, to re-open the spigot of public service that has been sealed shut by the Office of the Attorney General for too long. I like to state publicly that Guam has not had an attorney general since 2022. When I was in the military, I was considered a problem solver and I was sought out to tackle tough initiatives and to develop, train and implement programs that improve efficiency and accountability. When I left Guam, it was always with the intention of returning to Guam after gaining training, education and experience to be of service to Guam at a greater capacity. I have returned, and it is high time for me to serve at that greater capacity.
