Rory, Do Not Back Down, Do Not Submit to Josh Tenorio

The day after the general election of 2014, Ray Tenorio summoned a handful of the Calvo Tenorio campaign’s communications staff to the upper meeting room at Ture Cafe in East Agana to meet with him. Without any regard for how tired we were from the prolonged election campaign we had just won, the former lieutenant governor told us his campaign for governor for the 2018 election was starting that day, and demanded our loyalty to him.

I told him in the meeting that I would not be participating. I was tired. I had no intention of sticking through the second Calvo term. I was done with politics, but would continue my loyal service to the governor until I transitioned to the private sector.

No one else had the guts to tell Mr. Tenorio to his face that they didn’t want to support him. They didn’t like him. Hardly any senior or mid-level staffers at Adelup did. But they didn’t tell him that. Things ended up better for them, so to speak. From that day, I was targeted despite my years of hard work and loyalty to the governor.

Two Wednesdays ago, seaport general manager Rory Respicio filed a report with port police alleging Frankie Rosalin – Lt. Governor Joshua Tenorio’s brother in law – terrorized and threatened him, and punched holes into the walls and door of the port GM’s office. Mr. Rosalin has not been arrested. He continued to go to work for days after, reportedly leaving the staff frightened for their lives and safety. Adelup’s communications director says no one at Adelup has in any way tried to influence the investigation.

But we’re not idiots.

Mr. Respicio’s statement doesn’t simply address the allegations of violent crime. In his explanation of the encounter, he wrote about some of the relevant things Mr. Rosalin allegedly said to him.

Among those reported statements are that Mr. Rosalin was sent to the seaport to “watch” Mr. Respicio and to ensure he was making ‘the right’ decisions related to personnel and other matters. There were allegations made that Mr. Rosalin expected certain political favors to be done for connected people above those qualified for jobs. Other allegations were that Mr. Rosalin and Mr. Tenorio’s sister – Charissa Tenorio – had attempted several times to influence decisions at the seaport against the agency’s professional protocols.

According to the statement, Mr. Respicio stood up for his professional workforce and for the rules of the seaport and the government, positions that allegedly enraged Mr. Rosalin.

If Mr. Respicio is telling the truth in his statement, then what the port general manager – who also was the campaign manager for Lou Leon Guerrero’s victorious 2018 campaign – did cannot be glossed over. He spoke truth to power in the face of both threat of violence, and the obvious threat to his livelihood as he stood up to the lieutenant governor’s only brother in law, a man Josh Tenorio has repeatedly defended in the media.

As a tributary to this discussion, it is laughable to think Adelup needed to “watch” Mr. Respicio. Since he became the seaport manager, he turned the port’s finances from the red to the black. His agency has won multiple awards for financial management and transparency. And his operation was among the rare examples of Guam organizations that never stopped working during the pandemic. In short, the port under Rory Respicio has been a gold star operation of the Leon Guerrero administration; hardly an agency that needed to be spied upon by the lieutenant governor, unless what was being ‘watched’ was whether Rory Respicio was doing Josh Tenorio’s political bidding.

Obviously, Mr. Tenorio is unhappy that Mr. Respicio won’t bow down to him.

As I watch this scandal unfold, I cannot help but draw parallels between what happened to me and what is happening or might happen to Rory Respicio, despite his years of hard work and loyalty to the governor. All because of the political ambition of yet another Lieutenant Governor Tenorio.

Mr. Respicio recused himself from the entire probe against Mr. Rosalin, so I have to imagine his consternation through all this. Wondering why the man who allegedly terrorized and threatened him – a man related to his boss and who allegedly punched holes into his office – has yet to be arrested and was allowed to return to work. Wondering whether Adelup will have his back as the alleged victim in this case. Wondering whether his fellow cabinet members whom he has gone out of his way to defend throughout the administration and its campaigns – will stick by his side and also speak truth to power.

Rory, allow me to give you some advice from experience: There is no real loyalty in politics; only domination and submission. There are no ladies and gentlemen, only monsters dressed as sophisticates. Please do not back down. Please do not allow these people to defeat you. So many of us know what is right, and are cheering for you.

I didn’t like you before, but I certainly respect you now.

If you are fired for standing up for what is right, then so be it. We need people who will speak truth to power. The fact that you stood your ground for what is right in the face of both alleged workplace violence and under the weight of the powers of the corrupt lieutenant governor of Guam says everything about your character, and nothing for his.

In fact, Rory, if this is the end of the road for you in this administration because you had the guts to do what is right, then YOU should run against Josh Tenorio for governor. You have a record that qualifies you for the job, and you certainly have revealed the character people look for in a governor who will be more concerned about doing what is right than the current lieutenant governor has displayed.

Don’t let the crooked powerful get away with this.