Himself (as Appointed Governor of Guam)
Carlos Garcia Camacho (November 16, 1924 – December 6, 1979) was an American politician noted for being the first elected governor of Guam, serving in the position from 1971 to 1975. [1] [2] A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the last appointed governor of Guam from 1969 to 1971 under President Richard Nixon. Prior to this, he was a member of the Guam Legislature. [1] [2]
Camacho was born in the village of Hagåtña, Guam to Felix Martinez Camacho (1895–1977) and Antonia Cruz Garcia (1893–1985). His siblings included Maria Josefina Tanaka, Juan Camacho, Luis Camacho and Eddie Camacho.
From 1946 to 1949, he attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1952, he earned a D.D.S. degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Camacho served in the Guam Legislature from 1965 to 1967. At the age of 44, he was appointed Governor of Guam by President Richard Nixon, succeeding Manuel F.L. Guerrero. Kurt Moylan was appointed as his Lieutenant Governor.
In December 1969, Camacho made a historic trip to Vietnam to visit the Chamoru troops that were serving there to assist the war effort on Christmas. [3] Camacho's term as appointed governor lasted only eighteen months, as Congress passed the Guam Elective Governor Act in 1968 to allow Guamanians to elect their own governors; the law would take effect in 1970.
In 1970, Camacho ran for Governor in the territory's first gubernatorial election. Camacho first selected senator G. Ricardo Salas as his lieutenant governor running mate, but Salas was subsequently replaced by former Secretary of Guam Kurt Moylan.
The Democratic primary was close between former governor Manuel F. L. Guerrero, Senator Ricardo Bordallo, and attorney and former speaker Joaquin C. "Kin" Arriola. After a contentious runoff election, Bordallo defeated Guerrero. In the general election, the Republican ticket of Camacho/Moylan defeated the Democratic ticket of Bordallo/Taitano.
Camacho and Moylan's inauguration was held on January 4, 1971 at the Plaza de España in Agana. He used the resources of the government to enhance economic opportunities by granting incentives through the Guam Economics Development and offering various forms of assistance to the private sector. During his entire five and a half years in office, Camacho presided over one of the largest eras of hotel construction activities on Guam, with construction finishing or starting on the Kakue Hotel, Reef Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Okura Hotel, Fujita Tumon Beach, Continental Travelodge, and Guam Dai Ichi Hotel.
Camacho initiated massive road projects that were continued by his successors, including the widening of Marine Drive (now Marine Corps Drive) from Hospital Road north to Route 16 in Harmon, and the reconstruction of other major highways in the villages of Agat, Dededo and Tamuning, among others.
He is also credited with enticing many educated Chamorros back to Guam, to reverse what was seen as a “brain drain” at the time, including Tony Palomo, Greg Sanchez, Mary Sanchez, Tony Unpingco, Pedro C. Sanchez, Katherine B. Aguon, Juan C. Tenorio, Bert Unpingco, Ben Perez, Eddie Duenas, Joseph F. Ada and Frank Blas. Many of them took jobs with the government of Guam as administrators and later became senators. Camacho also kept on other able administrators even if they were not of his party affiliation which served to stabilize the government.
As a team, Camacho and Moylan worked to develop economic opportunity by creating incentives to attract business and encourage local participation in business. At the time Guam elected its first governor the federal government still had control over much of the island's utilities and roads. They struggled to work toward gaining more self-government and self-determination.
In the 1974 gubernatorial election, Camacho ran for reelection, facing a re-match with senator Ricardo Bordallo. Camacho won a plurality in the election, but an election challenge from the Bordallo campaign went all the U.S. Supreme Court. Bordallo won in the runoff election held later that year.
Camacho's wife was Lourdes Perez Camacho. They have seven children. His son Felix Perez Camacho served as Governor of Guam from 2003 to 2011 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor in the 2022 gubernatorial election. His only daughter Mary Camacho Torres became a senator in the Guam Legislature. Camacho's other children are Carlos, Thomas, Ricardo, Francis, and Victor.
Following his defeat for reelection as governor, Camacho returned to his career as a dentist, continuing in private practice until his death on December 6, 1979, four years later, at the age of 55. He is buried at the Pigo Cemetery in Anigua.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Carlos G. Camacho/Kurt S. Moylan | 11,396 | 55.80% | |
Democratic | Ricardo J. Bordallo/Richard F. Taitano | 9,028 | 44.20% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Carlos G. Camacho/Kurt S. Moylan | 8,830 | 39.52% | |
Democratic | Ricardo J. Bordallo/Rudolph G. Sablan | 7,203 | 32.24% | |
Independent | Paul M. Calvo/Antonio M. Palomo (write-in) | 6,311 | 28.25% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Ricardo J. Bordallo/Rudolph G. Sablan | 11,441 | 51.41% | |
Republican | Carlos G. Camacho/Kurt S. Moylan | 10,814 | 48.59% |
Felix James Pérez Camacho is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Guam from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Guam, he had previously served as a six-term senator in the Guam Legislature from 1993 to 2003.
Joseph Franklin Ada, better known as Joseph F. Ada, is an American politician who served as the fifth governor of Guam from 1987 to 1995. Before his accession to the governorship, Ada previously served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Guam from 1979 to 1983. He is a member of the Republican Party of Guam. He is the member of the Guam Legislature as the lead speaker from 1975 to 1979 and member as the senator from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987.
Ricardo Jerome "Ricky" Bordallo was an American politician and businessman, who served two terms as the second and fourth governor of Guam with Lieutenant Governor Rudy Sablan from 1975 to 1979, and with Lieutenant Governor Edward Diego Reyes from 1983 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party of Guam, Bordallo previously served as a Senator in the Guam Legislature from 1957 to 1971.
Guam elects on the territorial level a governor and a legislature with the governor elected for a four-year term by the people. The Legislature of Guam has fifteen members elected at large in an open primary for two year terms.
The Republican Party of Guam, commonly referred to as Guam GOP, is a political party in Guam affiliated with the United States Republican Party.
The Democratic Party of Guam is a political party in Guam affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Its origins lie in the Popular Party, which was the only political party on Guam until 1956.
Carl Tommy Cruz Gutierrez is an American politician who was the sixth governor of Guam, serving two four-year terms with Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Bordallo from January 2, 1995, to January 6, 2003. Gutierrez previously served a total of nine terms as a Senator in the Guam Legislature and was chosen by his colleagues to serve as Speaker of the 17th and 18th Guam Legislatures, respectively.
Benjamin Joseph Franquez "B. J." Cruz is a Chamorro lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as the Speaker of the 34th Guam Legislature from 2017 to 2018 and as Vice Speaker from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Guam Legislature from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2008 to 2018. He was Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court from 1999 to 2001. In September 2018, Cruz was elected to serve as Public Auditor of Guam.
General elections were held in Guam on November 7, 2006, in order to elect the governor, all 15 seats in the Legislature and the federal delegate. There was also a double referendum on legalise slot machines at racing tracks and raising the age at which citizens could purchase and consume alcohol to 21.
Paul McDonald Calvo was a Guamanian politician who served as the third governor of Guam from 1979 to 1983. Before his accession to the governorship, Calvo served in the Guam Legislature from 1971 to 1975. He was a member of the Republican Party of Guam.
General elections were held in Guam on November 2, 2010. Voters in Guam chose their Governor, their non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, Attorney General, as well as all fifteen members of the territorial legislature. The election coincided with the 2010 United States elections.
General elections were held in Guam on November 4, 2014. Voters elected the governor, legislature, and territory's delegate to the United States House of Representatives.
Frank Flores Blas Sr. was a Guamanian politician, businessman and member of the Republican Party of Guam. Blas served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Guam from January 5, 1987 until January 2, 1995 for two consecutive terms under Governor Joseph Franklin Ada.
Rudolph Guerrero Sablan was a Guamanian politician and member of the Democratic Party of Guam. Sablan served as the second lieutenant governor of Guam from January 6, 1975 to January 1, 1979 under Governor Ricardo Bordallo.
A general election was held in Guam on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Voters in Guam chose their governor, their non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, attorney general, public auditor, as well as all fifteen members of the territorial legislature. The election coincides with the United States mid-term elections.
Joaquin Camacho Arriola was an American attorney and Democratic Party of Guam politician in Guam. Arriola served as a senator in the Guam Legislature from 1955 to 1959 and as a senator in and Speaker of the Guam Legislature from 1967 to 1971, ran for Governor of Guam in 1974, and was the husband of former senator in the Guam Legislature Elizabeth P. Arriola.
Richard Flores Taitano known as Dick Taitano was a Democratic Party of Guam politician in Guam. Taitano served as a senator for six terms of the Guam Legislature.
Legislative elections were held in Guam on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, along with the election for the Guam delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Before the election, the Democratic Party held ten of the fifteen seats in the Legislature while the Republican Party held five seats. The election resulted in a gain of two seats for the Republican and a loss of two seats for Democrats to retain. Democrats also won the runoff race for Guam's US House Delegate.
The 2022 Guamanian gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Guam. Incumbent Democratic governor Lou Leon Guerrero, who was elected in 2018 with 50.7% of the vote, sought a second term. She faced former Republican governor Felix Camacho.