Hagatña — Supporters of the gubernatorial team of Speaker Antonio R. Unpingco and his running mate Sen. Eddie Calvo rallied around the slogan “Believe in Guam” as the team officially kicked off its campaign on Sunday. Unpingco, R-Santa Rita, is seeking the GOP’s gubernatorial nomination.
Motorcades rounding out the northern and southern parts of the island collected groups from every village and converged upon the Skinner Plaza in Hagatña to join the campaign kick-off festivities. Calvo, R-Maite, considered running for governor, but he decided to team up with Unpingco “for the good of Guam.”
The Unpingco-Calvo team is running against the slate of Sen. Felix Camacho, R-Tamuning, and Sen. Kaleo Moylan, R-Barrigada. The GOP primary is in September, while the general elections are slated in November.
Incumbent Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez, a Democrat, is barred from immediately running for a third term but his wife, Geri, is seeking the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
The first lady’s running mate is Maj. Gen. Benny Paulino of the Guam National Guard. Congressman Robert Underwood, D-Guam, and Sen. Sen. Tom Ada, D-Mangilao, are also reportedly interested in the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Unpingco and Calvo said their expertise and experience will be beneficial for Guam. Unpingco has been a lifelong public servant and Calvo is a member of the island’s most prominent family of businessmen. The son of former Gov. Paul Calvo, the senator was with the private enterprise in various capacities, most recently as general manager of Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Guam.
Unpingco has been a lawmaker for the past 20 years, He was the running mate of then Sen. Tommy Tanaka who lost to Gutierrez in the 1994 gubernatorial elections.
Camacho and Moylan, for their part, will attempt to repeat history—the two are sons of a past gubernatorial team: Gov. Carlos Camacho and Lt. Gov. Kurt Moylan.
