Lou Leon Guerrero

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Incumbent Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Z. Bordallo had two Democratic primary election challenges for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Guam in 1998. Lou Leon Guerrero was chosen as the running mate of Senator Thomas C. Ada, and Senator Angel L.G. Santos ran with Mayor Jose "Pedo" Terlaje. The "Tom and Lou" ticket placed 2nd in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on September 5, 1998, with 9,788 votes. [6]

Return to the Guam Legislature (2001–2007)

26th Guam Legislature

Leon Guerrero returned to public service in 2000, when she ran for a seat in the 26th Guam Legislature. The legislative primary election was cancelled that year, so Leon Guerrero automatically advanced to the general election held on November 7, 2000. She secured a seat in the legislature by placing 5th in the legislative general election with 18,748 votes. [6] As a minority member of the 26th Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero sponsored 5 public laws. [19]

27th Guam Legislature

Leon Guerrero stood for election in the 27th Guam Legislature in 2002. Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election after placing 3rd in the Democratic primary election on September 7, 2002, with 14,112 votes. Leon Guerrero placed 5th in the general election on November 5, 2002, with 23,651 votes. [20] As a majority member of the 27th Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero sponsored 21 public laws. [21]

28th Guam Legislature

Leon Guerrero ran for re-election into the 28th Guam Legislature in 2004. After placing fourth in the Democratic primary election on September 7, 2004, with 7,983 votes, Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election. Leon Guerrero was elected into the 28th Guam Legislature, placing 14th and garnering 14,853 votes in the general election on November 2, 2004. [22] During this term she authored 27 bills, 9 of which became public laws.

Business and non-profit career

In 2007, Leon Guerrero was honored as Guam's Small Business Administration's Women in Business Champion. [7] She then attended Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, graduating from its program in 2009. [23] Succeeding her father and her brother, Leon Guerrero is the chairwoman of the board, chief executive officer and president of the Bank of Guam. [7]

In August 2011, she was appointed director of the BankGuam Holding Company, and is also a director at Teleguam Holdings, LLC. [12] Leon Guerrero was deemed Guam’s 2010 Executive of the Year by Guam Business Magazine. [4]

Involvement in non-profit activity

Since its founding in 2009, Lou Leon Guerrero has served as Board Chair for Guampedia. [24] Leon Guerrero was a founding member [25] and served as the first President of the Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce. [24]

Elections

2018 gubernatorial candidacy

In February 2017, former senator Leon Guerrero officially announced her bid to be the next Governor of Guam. The Bank of Guam President selected Joshua Tenorio, Vice President of Guam Auto Spot, to be her running mate in the upcoming Democratic primaries.

The Leon Guerrero/Tenorio ticket faced-off with 3 other Democratic tickets: the Aguon/Limtiaco ticket, the Gutierrez/Bordallo ticket, and the Rodriguez/Cruz ticket. They emerged victorious with 32% of the primary vote. Leon Guerrero was elected as Guam's first female governor after defeating the Tenorio/Ada Ticket in the general election with 50.7% of the vote.

2022 gubernatorial candidacy

Leon Guerrero ran for reelection, with Josh Tenorio as her running mate. [26] They got reelected with 55.49% of the vote, defeating the Camacho/Ada Ticket.

Governor of Guam (2019–present)

Lou Leon Guerrero was inaugurated on January 7, 2019, as the 9th Governor of Guam at the University of Guam Calvo Field House in Mangilao. [1]

Policy initiatives

Minimum wage increase

Leon Guerrero expressed her support for a proposal to raise Guam's minimum wage to $9.25 in September 2019. [27] She signed the bill increasing in the minimum wage in stages in October 2019. The first stage, increasing the minimum wage to $8.75 per hour went into effect in March 2020. [28] A bill has since been passed and signed into law by Governor Guerrero delaying the increase in the minimum wage by 6 months, to reduce its impact to businesses during the Covid-19 Pandemic. However, the minimum wage has since been raised to $9.25 an hour. [8]

Response to inflation

Going into 2022, the Guamanian economy experienced increased inflation that hindered residents' purchasing power. To offset the rising cost of power and to avert economic crisis, Leon Guerrero pursued the creation of a monthly $100 credit for ratepayers in the territory. [29]

War claims advance payments to World War II survivors

Speaker Tina Rose Muña Barnes introduced a bill to expedite the payment of war claims to survivors of atrocities committed on Guam during World War II in July 2019. [30] In October 2019, the Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio and Chief of Staff Tony Babauta visited Washington, D.C., to lobby for war claims, among other administration initiatives. [31] Congressman Michael San Nicolas claimed that the local bill to pay war claims was a sham. [32]

Leon Guerrero signed the war claims bill into law on January 3, 2020. [33] [34] The first war claims checks were distributed at a ceremony on January 29, 2020. [35] By February, hundreds of Guam World War II survivors received their compensation through the local advance payment system. [36]

Abortion rights

In December 2022, Leon Guerrero vetoed legislation passed by the Legislature of Guam seeking to curtail abortion rights in Guam, with the relevant bill compared to the 2021 Texas Heartbeat Act. The legislature ultimately fell two votes short of overriding Leon Guerrero’s veto.

Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Guam

"Path to Half" vaccination campaign

Leon Guerrero announced an ambitious "Path to Half" vaccination campaign at a press conference on March 15, 2021. She set the goal of vaccinating half of Guam's adult population by May 1. [37] The Path to Half benchmark was met 3 days ahead of the deadline of May 1. [38]

Personal life

Guerrero married attorney Jeff Cook. She has two children, Joaquin and Mariana, [11] and seven grandchildren. [39]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Haidee Eugenio Gilbert. Crowd: Governor's speech inspires, is realistic, Hagatna, Guam.
  2. Busch, Monaco (2018-11-07). "Guam's New Governor Lou Leon Guerrero Is The First Woman To Serve In That Role". Bustle. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  3. 1 2 Guam Legislature. Resolution No. 148 (EC). Hagatna, Guam.
  4. 1 2 3 Guam Legislature. Resolution No. 27-31(COR). Hagatna, Guam.
  5. 1 2 "Guam Soc. of Obstetricians and Gynecologists v. Ada, 776 F. Supp. 1422 (D. Guam 1990)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  6. 1 2 3 Guam Election Commission. Election 1998 & 2000 Comparative Analysis Report Hagatna, Guam.
  7. 1 2 3 4 US Congress 2010, p. 5399.
  8. 1 2 Guam Legislature. Public Law 36-1. Hagatna, Guam.
  9. Haidee Eugenio Gilbert. Guam exceeds 62,500 adult full vaccination goal ahead of time. Hagatna, Guam. 30 April 2021.
  10. Hofschneider, Anita (2022-12-30). "Guam Governor Vetoes Heartbeat Act, Override Vote Fails". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  11. 1 2 3 109th Congress 2006, p. 5989.
  12. 1 2 "Bankguam holding co (BKGMF:OTC US)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  13. Governor of Guam. Lourdes “Lou” A. Leon Guerrero, Hagatna, Guam.
  14. Guam Legislature. Public Law 28-80. Hagatna, Guam.
  15. Guam Election Commission. Election 1994 Comparative Analysis Report. Hagatna, Guam.
  16. Guam Legislature. 23rd Guam Legislature - Public Laws. Hagatna, Guam.
  17. Guam Election Commission. Election 1996 Comparative Analysis Report Hagatna, Guam.
  18. Guam Legislature. 24th Guam Legislature - Public Laws. Hagatna, Guam.
  19. Guam Legislature. 26th Guam Legislature - Public Laws. Hagatna, Guam.
  20. Guam Election Commission. Election 2002 Comparative Analysis Report. Hagatna, Guam
  21. Guam Legislature. 27th Guam Legislature - Public Laws. Hagatna, Guam.
  22. Guam Election Commission. Election 2004 Comparative Analysis Report, Hagatna, Guam.
  23. "Guerrero, Lourdes". Reuters. Retrieved 7 September 2015.[ dead link ]
  24. 1 2 Guampedia. Governor Lourdes A. “Lou” Leon Guerrero. Hagatna, Guam.
  25. Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce. ABOUT US. Archived 2021-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Hagatna, Guam.
  26. "Governor to seek reelection". The Guam Daily Post. January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  27. Josh Tyquiengco. Governor supports increase in minimum wage. Archived 2023-10-03 at the Wayback Machine , Hagatna, Guam. 9 September 2019.
  28. Guam Legislature. Public Law 35-38. Hagatna, Guam.
  29. "Leon Guerrero: Guam is 'fighting its way forward and getting stronger every day'". Pacific Times. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  30. Guam Legislature. Bill No. 181-35 (COR). Hagatna, Guam.
  31. Guam Daily Post. Lieutenant governor goes on 2-week trip. Tamuning, Guam. 27 September 2019.
  32. Sabrina Salas Matanane. San Nicolas calls local war claims bill a sham. Tamuning, Guam. 23 December 2019.
  33. KUAM. Governor signs local war claims bill into law. Tamuning, Guam. 3 January 2020.
  34. Guam Legislature. P.L. No. 35-61. Hagatna, Guam.
  35. Nestor Licanto. Governor hands out first war claims checks. Tamuning, Guam. 29 January 2020.
  36. KUAM. 300 more war claims checks to be released. Tamuning, Guam. 5 February 2020.
  37. Steve Limtiaco. Governor: Travel quarantine could ease May 1 if more residents vaccinated. Hagatna, Guam. 15 March 2021.
  38. Haidee Eugenio Gilbert. Guam exceeds 62,500 adult full vaccination goal ahead of time. Hagatna, Guam. 30 April 2021.
  39. "About the Governor". Website of the Governor of Guam. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2021-03-13.

Bibliography

Lou Leon Guerrero
Governor of Guam Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero.jpg
9th Governor of Guam
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Guam
2018, 2022
Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Guam
2019–present
Incumbent