I JUST want to thank Sen. Jesse Lujan for taking the time to keep the general public aware of what his goals are, and what projects he is actively working on.
Senator Lujan has done a good job keeping his constituents up to date on what is going on in the Legislature, at least in matters that he has involvement with. In the Marianas Variety, he took pains to detail his thoughts and perspectives on social and political issues pertinent to Guam in his “Jesse’s Corner” column. I am not aware of any other public official who took time out of their schedules to write a weekly column.
The point I am trying to make here is that we are not holding our senators and other public officials accountable for their time. We cannot ethically vote a senator back into office or, for that matter, vote him or her out of office if we don’t know what that senator’s record of action is.
Politicians could do a much better job of keeping us, the voters, abreast of what is going on and how they are impacting legislation. I cannot emphasize how important it is for the people of Guam to know what their government officials are doing or not doing.
More senators and officials need to follow Lujan’s lead and keep a running dialogue with the public. Too many of our officials are in the shadows so to speak. We have no concept of what they are doing. We cannot and should not abide this cloak and dagger approach to politics, which circumvents public awareness and to a large extent public accountability. Without awareness we cannot have accountability.
So, please, ask your senators to make more of an effort to make press statements, write articles, and give public addresses to inform us of what is going on.

KELLY MARTINEZ
SSGT. U.S. Army retired
Yigo, Guam