The Guam Legislature delivered to Governor Lou Leon Guerrero Friday night the green light to move onto the next significant step in the development of a new, state-of-the-art hospital. In an 8-7 bipartisan vote, senators chose a location for the development – essentially, Ypao Point – and she immediately created a fuss, announcing she will veto the bill.
She’s acting like a spoiled little girl who got a Malibu Barbie instead of the Disco Barbie she asked for. She’s throwing herself on the floor, flailing her legs and pounding her fists violently because she didn’t get what she wants.
The governor is throwing a temper tantrum because the legislature rejected her preferred site of Adacao, and chose Ypao Point – which was among HER three preferred options SHE sent to Matrix Design Group to study for site feasibility. In fact, the Ypao location ranked higher than the Adacao option in that independent report by Matrix.
Step 1 of a multi-step, lengthy and complicated process to get to just the groundbreaking of a new hospital is within sight. All the governor has to do is sign the darn bill into law, or to let it lapse into law, and the government can move on to the much-more complicated finance and bond authorization step. Instead, she intends to veto the bill with ZERO alternatives on the table. And even if she proposes one after she vetoes it, it will take months before senators are able to vote on that proposal.
We’ve already waited nearly nine years since Dennis Rodriguez and Eddie Calvo first got the ball rolling on this initiative. Maybe someone will give the governor that magic fairy she asked for that will fix all the problems at the current GMH facility before another person dies or gets sick from that failing building and piss poor operation.
In the history of governors who were fortunate enough to receive second terms from voters, I recall this: all of them had temper tantrums during their lame duck years, when they didn’t get what they wanted. And all of them ended up looking like fools and nearly spoiling the legacies of strength and goodwill they built in their first terms. Ms. Leon Guerrero has been anointed with that curse, it seems.
Take the win, governor. Hurry up and build the damn hospital at Ypao Point. We’ve all been waiting. And we certainly don’t have patience for a temper tantrum.
2 Comments
V R
02/24/2024 at 11:07 PM
Our governor attitude of my way or the highway is really childish. I’m an engineer and fully agree that the good location for the new hospital is in Tamuning. It’s close to the most populated area in Guam and also provides multiple access. In comparison the site she favors has limited access. Major accident in route 15 will severely limit the access to that site.
The other stupid decision she made is the location of the new power plant. That’s the last place you want power plant to be located. Shifting winds will affect the residential neighborhood, GRMC and Tumon. We will regret locating it there.
David
02/26/2024 at 7:15 PM
This is an interesting topic posted by Kandit—-Lourdes Leon Guerrero is a ‘lame duck’ Governor.
Politicians, especially those holding Office of the Governor, oftentimes falls onto that point where he or she becomes lame duck in its leadership posture. This is the time when a Governor is widely know to have lost control of its command and control of his/ her Office or for literary become autocratic; and nothing else matters but his or her own idea.
I would to compare this lane Duck Governor theory with that of a real lame Duck-Duck.
A Duck with broken legs is a ‘lame Duck’. If that lane Duck gets in the water, it will have a rough time paddling. It will not go too far in the water. The probability is that it would go under water because it is a lame Duck!
So a lame duck Governor can no longer succeed in her duties as Governor, because he or she has lost the intelligent and creative tools to govern; and at this point, he or she has made no room for intellectual and positive negotiation—-autocracy is at work. ‘You listen and do as I say’.
So in concept, that lame Duck, with broken legs, has some similarity of a lame Duck Governor who has lost his/her power and influence over governmental policies of public goods and services. That lame Duck can’t go anywhere with broken legs.
Then why do some governors become ‘lame Duck’? There must host of reasons why.
One of a number of reasons why I agree with Kandit that Lourdes Leon Guerrero is a ‘lame Duck’ Governor is:
She is arrogant and autocratic.
What about you Kandit readers. What say you?