HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Port Authority of Guam General Manager Rory Respicio has issued additional responses to comments made by Sen. Joanne Brown as he pushes lawmakers to reconsider the nomination of Judith Guthertz to serve as a board director for the Port.
This past session, eight lawmakers, including Brown, voted against passing Guthertz’s nomination to continue serving as a director, which has left the Port without a functioning board.
Respicio insinuated that Brown influenced her colleagues into siding against Guthertz, while Brown retorted that larger concerns were at play regarding decisions and operations at the Port and that Respicio was “very good at twisting words.”
Brown has outlined several of her concerns, some of which Respicio addressed in a prior news release. One concern involved leave payments cashed out by Respicio and a deputy general manager at the end of Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s first term.
Respicio addressed additional comments from Brown in this latest news release, including the leave matter. He stated that the leave payments were proper and in accordance to existing policies and that such payments were not unique to their tenure.
Respicio told Brown that the Port hopes “to prevent any undue influence” on the other senators who voted against Guthertz’s appointment, as well as prevent any “misplaced legislative obstacles” for the two other nominees to the Port, Luis Baza, a former deputy general manager, and former Port board chairman, Francis Santos.
Rory Respicio
Joanne Brown
Judith Guthertz
