Through a process of pragmatic, incremental steps leading into the 1970s, Guam was allowed to elect its own governor, rather than relying on presidential appointees. We also developed a delegate to the U.S. Congress and the political-development future was bright for Guam.
According to the recounting provided in “The Guam Secret Study,” in 1975, Department of the Interior officials did not notify the governor of Guam that President Ford desired a potential for an NMI-like commonwealth option for Guam. Instead, political development improvements on Guam began to languish and lose a sense of direction.
In the last few weeks, I have read many parts of the proceedings of the 1977 Guam Constitutional Convention. One of my favorite parts of the proceedings is pictures of the disco-style clothing all the members wore. The proceedings are an excellent document and contain many insights on how Guam politics works. Two current members of the Guam Legislature, Speaker Judi Won Pat and Sen. Judi Guthertz, were both members of this constitutional convention. While this constitution effort failed, a very good document was produced and many of the conversations about the process can serve as a touchstone for discussions today.
Between 1980 and today, not a lot has happened in either the internal constitution effort arena for Guam or the external political status improvement arena. The Guam Organic Act was modified in a few places. For example, the judiciary was addressed and other aspects of government were clarified. There was also an effort in the 1990s to get a Guam Commonwealth Act passed by Congress. Part of the riddle to understanding the failure of commonwealth is the “all or nothing” position taken on the Guam side. In future efforts, there needs to be a potential to negotiate parts in dispute. If this had happened in 1998, a form of commonwealth might have passed.
When commonwealth failed, political status efforts went into a sort of hibernation. The change from 21 to 15 senators in 1998 also appears to have contributed to limited political status efforts. With just 15 senators, the margins of electability were strongly narrowed, and this in turn appears to have forced out the traditional non-centrist voices that called for improved political status. Fifteen senators also have caused a latent political dysfunction for Guam, because the number required to override vetoes is very low and far too near the number required to actually pass legislation.
When vetoes are overridden — which they frequently are — this creates a sort of implementation resentment on the part of the executive. Coupled with an elected attorney general, this further creates political dynamics that are far beyond a normal scale. This leads to an over-reliance on the courts to address political disputes created by these conditions. So like it or not, the judiciary has the most political power on Guam by default.
RON McNINCH
Mangilao, Guam
