(Hagåtña, Guam) – In the early evening of Wednesday, March 15, 2023, Governor Leon Guerrero delivered her state of the island address at the Speaker Antonio R. Unpingco Legislative Session Hall in the Guam Congress Building. In her address, the Governor reviewed the notable accomplishments of her term so far, including fiscal management, the latest statistics on crime, tourism revitalization, economic recovery, and her plans to move forward with the new hospital.
“I acknowledge that Governor Leon Guerrero has not been idle with the funding received from the Federal Government and I am grateful that she applied the funding to programs that matter to our community. I’d also like to thank her for committing additional support for a new 20 million dollar round of the Local Employer Assistance Program (LEAP),” Lujan began.
In response to the statistics on crime and drugs, Senator Lujan was weary to say that crime had improved.
“But while I appreciate the Governor’s optimism, and I know we all want our island to rebound fully from the devastation of the pandemic, I do think she glossed over some of the serious problems facing our island. Although I agree that we need to put resources and attention into drug counseling and rehabilitation to help cure the destructive nature of crystal meth and I support the Governor’s efforts and work on that front, I also think she significantly overstates our local law enforcement success when it comes to crime prevention. Our streets are awash with crystal meth and GPD is barely making a dent. This is the wrong time to celebrate our crime numbers. We need to do much more and not worry about patting ourselves on the back for small victories that happen on rare occasions.” Lujan voiced.
With much of the businesses in Tumon scarcely frequented, empty, or shuttered, the Vice Chair of the legislative committee on tourism strongly indicated that the current state of the island’s visitor industry is barely touching the surface of revival.
“Our tourism industry, while slowly coming back, is very far from pre-pandemic levels. More needs to be done and we need to tackle it with more urgency, not less.” Lujan stated.
Eight days prior to the address, Lujan had requested for the Governor to declare a state of emergency on the Guam Department of education. But after the address, the returning lawmaker was glad to hear her focus on the issues directly.
“I am glad the Governor took on the issues overwhelming GDOE and that she is now concentrating on providing the necessary resources to GDOE as quickly as possible. I agree it will take a combined effort between GDOE, the Legislature, and the Executive branch to tackle the significant problems facing GDOE. That is why I will be requesting an oversight hearing where key senior staff from Adelup, GDOE senior management, the directors of Public Health & Social Services, the Director of DPW, and the Head of GSA can all be together to address the many problems facing GDOE. The status quo is unacceptable and our children deserve better. I am pleased to hear some direct acknowledgement of the situation. Now is the time to act.”” Lujan asserted.
The Governor also detailed her plans to move forward with the hospital.
“While I strongly agree that healthcare in Guam should be improved, I have always hesitated to support the Governor’s hospital plan. Her timeline and budget to complete the construction has never been realistic. Quality hospital and medical care for our people can’t wait for another seven to ten years. A public-private partnership between GMH and GRMC makes much more sense financially and it can be executed quickly.” Lujan said.
Before the address, it was revealed that Governor Leon Guerrero had met with Navy RearAdm. Benjamin Nicholson, along with Senator Joe San Agustin, Senator William Parkinson, Senator Dwayne San Nicolas, Senator Roy Quinata, and others the day before to discuss the land lease for the proposed hospital, which was scheduled to be delivered and signed the next day, on Wednesday, March 15th. However, the lease came with an obligation – in exchange for the Government of Guam’s use of the Lålo/Eagles Field land, the new hospital will provide medical care for locals as well as a multitude of military personnel that will be arriving on the island due to the increased activity of China and other threats.
“While I generally support the U.S. military and their actions, the land originally belonged to the families of Guam and I don’t fully agree with the military leveraging their position. It just doesn’t feel right.” Lujan added.
“I want to work with the administration on the challenges facing Guam. We need a “Team Guam” approach to solving our problems and we need to move beyond the politics of the past.” Lujan concluded.
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