by Ken Wetmore, KUAM NewsWednesday, November 10, 2004
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5 days and 13 precincts down, with 40 left to be recounted - and the race between the 15th and 16th spots has tightened. With 13 of Guam's 53 precincts now having been successfully recounted incumbent Republican senator Joanne Brown's four-vote lead has been cut to a single vote over Democrat incumbent Speaker Ben Pangelinan. Of course, there are still 40 more precincts to go.It's been slow going at the Guam Election Commission in Recount 2004. If the recount continues at the current speed it will take around another two weeks working seven days a week to complete the recount. Both candidates have picked up a good number of votes, with Brown picking up 47 and Pangelinan up by 50 votes. Those gains are raising the question of whether the 13th and 14th spots help by Democrat incumbents Rory Respicio and Lou Leon Guerrero, respectively, could be passed by Brown and Pangelinan, as Leon Guerrero was only ahead of Brown by 235 votes and Respicio by 241 when the recount began.Should Brown and Pangelinan pass Respicio and Leon Guerrero, it would undoubtedly lead to another recount.