HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Two nominees up for reappointment to the Port Authority of Guam board – Judith Guthertz and Dorothy Harris – went through a confirmation hearing last week at the Guam Congress Building. And just like the prior confirmation hearing for other board nominees, part of the conversation last week turned to the “Port 7,” with lawmakers pressing Guthertz in particular.
The “Port 7” are a group of seven current and former port employees who were involved in a yearslong workers’ compensation controversy, now settled by the PAG. The settlement cost the port authority more than $3 million, including legal fees.
Sen. Thomas Fisher said he knew Guthertz wasn’t at the board when the settlements were made, but added that he was struck by Guthertz having “endorsed” the settlements during one of the initial board meetings she attended.
The senator then played a portion of a recording in which Guthertz states that she wasn’t familiar with the case, but seeing how it went through different levels of scrutiny over nine years, she said she believed that the matter wasn’t handled the way it should have been handled, and as a result, “we have to make it right now.”
Speaking on her position, Guthertz explained that the courts and the Civil Service Commission rendered orders in the Port 7 matters, and settlements were negotiated and presented to the board.
“In my opinion, it was time to move forward. And that was the rationale for my action especially with the basis of the court action and the Civil Service Commission,” Guthertz said.
Fisher and Guthertz would go back and forth on her view of the Port 7 matter. Guthertz said the issue was investigated, that she reviewed the documents, and that she doubted some of the accusations made against the Port 7.
Fisher said he was exploring Guthertz’s capacity for reaching a “good fiduciary-like judgment.” He noted that a lawyer for one of the Port 7 billed more than $306,000 in attorney’s fees, which was justified by a one page billing sheet.
“There’s absolutely no designation of what he did, but we just wrote him a check for $306,000. Does this raise any questions in your mind?” Fisher said.
Guthertz called the matter “regrettable” from the very beginning, but added that she believed she did what was right.
“We want to make sure you can and will exercise the sort of judgment over the Port that is necessary. So, obviously, we wonder when a person comes in and endorses a number of settlements as far as we can tell, without doing an investigation on it. That’s how it looks on paper,” Fisher said, to which Guthertz disagreed.
Fisher also stated that former Attorney General Leevin Camacho had been one of the attorneys to receive fee payments under the settlement, “while he was the attorney general and while he refused to criminally investigate the matter.” He asked Guthertz if that “set off any alarm bells.”
Guthertz said she believed the Port 7 matter was bizarre from the beginning, and her goal was to move forward.
“And I made my decision. If the senators aren’t comfortable with that, that’s fine. But I feel I made the right decision at the time,” Guthertz said.
Sen. Joanne Brown, a former Port general manager, said “disturbing” information came to light during the confirmation hearing for two other board nominees – Luis Baza and Francisco Santos.
Baza served as deputy general manager of the Port Authority from December 2019 through December 2022, and oversaw the Port 7 settlements. Santos was a longtime board member and was nominated for reappointment.
“Unfortunately information came to light that was very disturbing further, including Mr. Luis Baza admitting that he did the settlements without counsel on behalf of the Port advising him. That he admitted essentially that he settled these agreements without counsel, and relied on the counsel of the employees. Those are the type of things that raise issue,” Brown said.
Baza also chaired the Civil Service Commission prior to being hired at the Port Authority. Brown brought up Baza’s claim that he recused himself from the Port 7 cases while at the CSC, but said she knew Baza sat in on the CSC hearings because she was also present at the hearings.
“That to me, it raises concern. Those are the types of things that raises questions with regard to people’s judgment, with regard to their character, especially when ratepayer money is at stake,” Brown said.
“So, your facts to the case unfortunately are not all accurate that’s my view on that issue,” Brown told Guthertz and Harris, later adding that she was disappointed to hear that Guthertz endorsed the actions by the board, which the senator said still raises questions.
