Mongmong-Toto-Maite Mayor Rudy Paco submitted his letter of resignation from the Guam Visitors Bureau board of directors but the governor hasn’t accepted Paco’s resignation, along with that of P. Sonny Ada, GVB board director.
GVB Board Chairman Milton Morinaga also plans to resign from the board, which has been in conflict with GVB President and CEO Carl Gutierrez.
Paco, in an interview Thursday, confirmed submitting his resignation letter but he said the effective date would be when a replacement is appointed by either the governor or the Mayors Council of Guam.
Piti Mayor Jesse Alig, council president, confirmed receiving Paco’s resignation letter, which he also sent to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s office. Alig said he will be working closely with the governor on a new appointee.
Ada on Thursday said the governor received his resignation letter weeks ago, but the governor, he said, asked him to stay until a new appointment is made.
Morinaga tried to call a special board meeting Jan. 31, after an eight-month pause. Last year, Gutierrez accused board members of illegal and unethical acts. The meeting was canceled over the lack of a quorum. Only seven board members were present either in person or via video at the time; eight were needed for a quorum.
Gutierrez, Sen. Telo Taitague and others reminded Morinaga that it would be illegal to meet without a quorum. They also said one of the agenda items, electing two board members whose initial selection wasn’t included in the published agenda as required by law, was illegal.
As the leadership impasse continues, tourism is still far from achieving pre-pandemic levels, but visitor numbers have been steadily increasing compared to fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
Next meeting
GVB called for a Feb. 13 general membership meeting to elect four nominees to the board: Paula Monk; Rachel Tan; Carlos Taitano; and Bill Nault.
That meeting will coincide with the 2023 Super Bowl time on Guam. It’s set for 9-11 a.m. at Dusit Thani Ballroom B.
GVB in January called for a general membership meeting but didn’t muster enough attendance to select new board members or vote on proposed amendments to the bylaws that contained several changes, including trying to limit the board’s authority over management.
If Feb. 13 morning meeting has enough members, those elected to the GVB board would be able to attend the special board meeting, scheduled for 1 p.m.
Paco on Thursday said he wants to resign from the GVB board to focus more on his village and to give mayors from other villages the opportunity to also serve on the tourism board.
“They may have better ideas on how to help tourism recover,” Paco said. “I look forward to Guam tourism’s full recovery.”
Paco reiterated that he wasn’t able to attend the Jan. 31 meeting because a staff member died.
In early 2022, Gutierrez accused some board members of violating the Open Government Act and being unethical, saying they participate in discussions that will directly benefit their private companies. By nature of their membership on the board, most members are from tourism-related entities.
Oversight hearing
At 2 p.m. Friday Sen. Jesse Lujan, the acting chairman of the legislative committee on tourism, will hold an oversight hearing focused on five GVB issues:
- The status of harmonizing or amending the law that created GVB and its current bylaws.
- Tourism recovery status.
- Status of elected directors.
- Answers and responses to the letter that Lujan and Sen. Will Parkinson sent to Morinaga.
- A lack of quorum for GVB membership election and current status.
By: Haidee Eugenio Gilbert
Source: Pacific Daily News