THE governor said he would like to spend more time with his family (PDN, Jan. 1, Page 4) since he has to seek balance in life which is what most people want.
I would just like to know if that means he will be even less accessible since Gov. Camacho has been one of the harder to find chief executives. Ask the folks at Newstalk K-57, a mostly conservative talk-show hosts arena, if they could get the Governor on the air. Most of the time it is just press releases and statements delivered by Shawn E. Gumataotao, the spokesperson, that have to suffice which means no follow-up questions.
Most folks who utter statements such as the one the governor made, do so as a precursor to their retirement. You can hear that from pro-athletes, ballplayers, and coaches who just got the axe that they need to spend more time with their families. I wonder where the dedication was all along but better late than never, right?
I thought the Lt. Gov. Mike W. Cruz would be the “absent one,” given his duties as a physician and the inability of the governor to take different viewpoints and get along as evidenced by the heavy-handed approach he took with his former Lt. Gov. Kaleo S. Moylan. But it looks like the governor himself will be more of a recluse – if that is possible – the next four years which begs the question why was he so desperate for a win? (And I have less sympathy for the former lt. gov. who was interested in change but believes(ed) only he can bring about that change and if he couldn’t, four more years of Camacho was the way to go which makes him almost as egotistical as former AG Douglas Moylan.)
Maybe the CEO was so desperate because he has to cover the sins of his first term which is typical of most of Guam leaders. Maybe it is his legacy that he is worried about. Whatever it is, if he shows the same commitment applied to win in ’06 to solving Guam’s problems, the people would have made the right choice in picking him to serve.MATT

Matt PHILIPS
Mangilao, Guam