by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Governor Eddie Calvo is thanking the nine senators who voted "to maintain parity within our government" specifically those who voted in favor of deleting the section of Bill 4 that would repeal salary increases for elected officials and cabinet members. Bill 4 was introduced by Senator Michael San Nicolas. In his release, Governor Calvo states that "San Nicolas equated the hay pay adjustment for the Executive Branch, with the more than $1 billion over the span of several decades in unfunded federal mandates placed on GovGuam." Calvo called this "reckless and inaccurate" considering what remained of the hay plan implementation was a fraction of the overall plan. The governor further accused the senator of having "double standards" when it comes to his position on raises. The nine senators who voted to not to repeal Public Law 32-208 include Speaker Judi Won Pat and Senators Tina Muna Barnes, Rory Respicio, Dennis Rodriguez Jr., Tony Ada, Mary Torres, Tommy Morrison, Frank Blas Jr. and James Espaldon. Senator Brant McCreadie was excused as he was off-island.

Senator San Nicolas in response says it is Governor Eddie Calvo who has been inconsistent. In a release San Nicolas says he has always been for keeping his salary the same from when he first took office two years ago adding his record and conscience is clear. He further states "the governor a couple months ago threatened to call me out if I kept pushing for this raise rollback. I accept that the retribution I get for pushing this issue are attempts by the governor's office to mischaracterize me and besmirch my character." San Nicolas adds our government still has many obligations that have not been accomplished which is why he consistently fights to repeal the raises and retro payments.