Democrats nominate Gutierrez/Aguon to run for Adelup

by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - During the Democratic Party of Guam meeting Thursday evening, the party nominated former governor Carl Gutierrez and Senator Frank Aguon Jr. to run for governor and lieutenant governor in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

According to newly elected party chairman Rory Respicio, because no one has officially declared a ticket for the gubernatorial race, the party decided to nominate a team itself.

It was last year when Respicio told KUAM that should no team come forward or declare a run for Adelup in the new year that the party would draft a ticket for the gubernatorial race.  

Respicio says the party will inform Gutierrez and Aguon of the nomination and leave it to them to make a decision. Gutierrez and Aguon were not in attendance at the party meeting held at the Sinajana Community Center. Respicio adds just because the party nominated a team, it does not prevent any other individual or team from running and should some other team step forward to run under the democrat banner, the party's action this evening will be negated.

"I think it makes sense simply because if you look at the last 2010 election and how the Gutierrez/Aguon came 487 votes shy of winning, and then there's this confirmed reporting of election irregularities, it makes perfect sense that we present a Gutierrez/Aguon ticket to be like rematch of the 2010 election," Respicio says.  "And not because Gutierrez/Aguon ticket lost because there was a dark cloud surrounding the entire election process. Whenever you have a situation where things are being challenged, the only solution is to have a rematch."

Gutierrez and Aguon have yet to answer our calls for comment.