by Ken Wetmore, KUAM News Wednesday, November 24, 2004 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

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We previously reported several Decision 2004 mayoral, vice-mayoral, and senatorial candidates have failed to file financial disclosure forms with the Guam Election Commission by Monday's 5pm deadline. As it turns out, the Citizens for Economic Diversity has also not turned in a financial disclosure report, although there appears to be confusion on when (or even if) CFED must turn in the report.

GEC executive director Gerry Taitano says organizations that are formed to support or oppose initiatives on election ballots must turn in financial information...in some cases. "Our current statues provide a threshold of $100,000 either in contributions or expenditures, and they need to file an organization report and submit their financial statements when that threshold is passed," Taitano explained to KUAM News.

While the special interest group Communities Opposing Proposal "A" has filed a financial disclosure with the Guam Election Commission, CFED, the Prop "A" proponents, have not. CFED spokesperson Jay Merrill says he believes there is some confusion over whether the election is really over, since they are suing to overturn the results and setup a special election for Prop "A".

However, Merrill does say his organization has crossed the threshold that requires a financial disclosure form be filed. "We're still compiling the numbers," he said. "It's over the $100,000 identification, so we will be providing the full disclosure statement as required by law; there's no question about that we simply are at the moment unsure when the campaign is deemed officially over - our contention, of course, is that it hasn't ended yet."

COPA legal counsel Attorney Jay Arriola, whose organization filed there financial disclosures before Monday's deadline, says he believes the law is clear and that CFED should have already filed a financial disclosure statement. "We are certainly interested in who is funding this fight. Our concern, of course, is if they are not disclose the financial interests of CFED now, who's to say they're going to start disclosing these things when so-called controlled gambling comes to Guam? Again, its just further evidence that the proponents of gambling are not being very forthright," Arriola explained.

Arriola says he is calling on the GEC or the Guam Attorney General's Office to investigate CFED's failure to file the financial disclosures. The GEC says they are not the enforcement arm of the government and it would be up to the AG's Office or the Office of the Public Auditor to investigate.

Guam Attorney General Douglas Moylan told KUAM News today he has received no official complaints and therefore no investigation is currently underway.