William Parkinson
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — As lawmakers in the 37th Guam Legislature near the end of the term, they do so with a resolution censuring Sen. William Parkinson for a sexually explicit gesture reportedly made during an emergency session in October.
To censure is to make a formal condemnation or statement of disapproval of the actions of a senator.
Nine lawmakers voted to adopt Resolution 579-37 during regular session Monday night: Sens. Chris Barnett, Frank Blas Jr., Joanne Brown, Chris Duenas, Jesse Lujan, Sabina Perez and Telo Taitague, as well as Speaker Therese Terlaje and Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes.
Except for Barnes and Duenas, these senators had sponsored the resolution, with Terlaje being the main sponsor.
Sens. Roy Quinata and Dwayne San Nicolas voted against the resolution, while Sens. Thomas Fisher, Joe San Agustin and Amanda Shelton were absent and excused.
Resolution 579 wasn’t initially part of the session agenda, but Terlaje successfully moved to include it Monday night, before lawmakers proceeded to vote on session items. Parkinson didn’t speak during the debate on the resolution, but he did move to recuse himself from voting on it.
“I would like to recuse myself as I have not been afforded due process under the court of law,” Parkinson said during voting.
Resolution 579-37 describes the alleged gesture as an explicit hand jerking motion angled toward Brown. It supposedly happened after brief arguments among Parkinson, Brown and Taitague over a point of information that Parkinson wanted to make while Brown was speaking during the emergency session.
The session hall camera was focused on Brown, so the gesture was not shown during the online broadcast of proceedings. But Brown and Taitague acknowledged the gesture during session, and village mayors and staff watching from the session hall gallery reportedly saw Parkinson make the gesture.
Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, president of the Mayors’ Council of Guam, wrote to Terlaje after the alleged incident, telling her that he was “appalled, outraged and insulted” by Parkinson’s demeanor. He requested the speaker’s discernment of ethical misconduct regarding the gesture.
Terlaje said Monday that Resolution 579 stemmed from Alig’s letter.
“Bringing this resolution to the floor brings me no joy. I don’t remember this ever being done, and I’m not happy to be doing this against one of my colleagues. But I do believe that, despite our relationships, we have a responsibility to ensure that we’re going to be able to raise girls and women here on Guam who are going to be able to speak out…without being harassed, particularly, with sexually explicit gestures,” Terlaje said.
“I just don’t want our Legislature to be the one that goes down in history and sets this example for the girls and women of Guam, that we turn the other way when this kind of behavior happens. It shouldn’t happen anywhere on Guam,” the speaker added.
Several other senators followed Terlaje, speaking in favor of the resolution.
But San Nicolas said he didn’t support the resolution, calling the statements made in session a “witch hunt.”
“Does this trial, does this witch hunt, does this action by our body, is it commensurate to the good that Sen. Parkinson does? And I say it’s unequal, it doesn’t balance out,” San Nicolas said, before making a comparison to the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century.
“Everybody thought these little girls were witches…. It took several centuries for us to determine it was unwarranted, and those girls were actually, in fact, innocent. In my own understanding of spirituality, I cannot forgive Sen. Parkinson for Sen. Joanne Brown…. But I wasn’t here in the room, and if I was to be offended in the same way, I forgive you (Parkinson). You’ve done such tremendous good for the people of Guam, and we shouldn’t turn our eyes to what good you have brought in this term,” San Nicolas added.
Brown said she has gone through her fair share of debates, but has “never been so disrespected” on the session floor as during the emergency session in October.
“I’m not speaking because, ‘Oh, woe is me.’ I will not shy away…. We have too many women in this community that are victimized. Yeah, there are some men, too, but (in) most cases it’s women in this community that are victimized, that are sexually harassed, demeaned, that are abused, made to feel less because they are a girl. There is nothing to justify what happened,” Brown said.
“What was even more disturbing for me, it’s never sometimes the crime, it’s what you do to cover the crime. Our good colleague Sen. Parkinson went before the media and then denied what he did and lied about it,” Brown added.
Parkinson had called Resolution 579 a “political stunt” as it was introduced a day before the general election on Guam. The Democratic Party of Guam, as well, said the resolution’s timing was “meant to harm the ballot box” and distract people from more important matters on Guam.
Terlaje, Barnett and Perez are Democrats, while the remaining sponsors of Resolution 579 are Republican.
Parkinson also would go on to win reelection to the 38th Guam Legislature.
The Guam Daily Post asked Parkinson for comment on the resolution and if he denied making the alleged gesture. No response was provided as of press time.