Office of the Governor of Guam

05/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/02/2024 03:03

Barnett’s Grandstanding Accomplishes Nothing. Real Leaders Unite to Solve Problems.

Hagåtña, Guam - The Office of the Governor issues the following statement on Wednesday's townhall meeting on Simon Sanchez High School:

"We all want to rebuild Simon Sanchez High School now, but nothing Senator Barnett said or did yesterday will actually make that happen. Even one of his closest senatorial allies, Senator Perez, told yesterday's crowd in a remarkable moment of candor that Senator Barnett's bill will do nothing to fix the current protest.

That's the difference between a politician and a leader…

When a politician speaks, you cheer but leave just as empty handed as you came.

It's been ten months since the Legislature changed Guam law to simplify the procurement process used to rebuild Simon Sanchez. Now, with the design complete, the Department of Public Works (DPW) would like to select a Construction Manager and put them to work, but this cannot proceed because of an Attorney General who has willfully chosen to abandon his Organic Act duties and the Simon Sanchez community.

Governor Leon Guerrero called senators into special session twice to address this problem so projects like Simon Sanchez would not be delayed again. Yet, Senator Barnett and others like him did nothing to help.

That's because, for him, complaining about Simon Sanchez is better politics than letting the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration build it.

Governor Leon Guerrero is an open book who has always told the unvarnished truth when the moment demanded it. Senator Barnett is a foot taller and at least one hundred pounds heavier. If he wants to lie about her and the issues she cares about in public, then pretend to be friendly in private, he better be man enough to hear the whole truth and nothing but.

We are thankful for every student who attended yesterday's town hall and hope they saw beyond the grandstanding to a simple truth: democratic government is hard work. It's inefficient. And too often, it's frustrating-but it's better than the alternative. If we stay focused and rely on information rather than ignorance, then we will be defined not by our obstacles but by the people who worked to overcome them."

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