Ethics committee convenes on Friday

by Heather Hauswirth

The Legislative Ethics Committee will meet on Friday afternoon for the first time to appoint a chairperson and determine leadership roles.  The group is expected to take up an ethics complaint filed by Port Authority of Guam board chair Monte Mesa against Senator Matt Rector.

Mesa alleges Rector has a conflict of interest being a senator and Labor Committee oversight chair and the president of the Guam Federation of Teachers.  The ethics panel is also expected to review Rector's alleged use of his position as Labor Committee chairman to leverage the union by his line of questioning and the amendment he proposed dealing with collective bargaining related to the rules and regulations of the port.

Senator Frank Blas, Jr., said, "I would think that it would behoove the attorney general recognizing that there's a violation of the law that they do move on it.  I don't think they can skirt from this. She is the individual who, the chief officer of he land and based on that she should move on the matter."