Now what?

The governor quickly vetoed the bill passed by senators Friday that would have paved the way for a more immediate replacement for the Yona mayor. Her move means lawmakers, who scrambled last week to ensure the village has at least a temporary leader in place, are back to square one.

Acting Speaker Telena Nelson had called a special session Friday specifically to address the vacancy created when Mayor Jesse Blas was jailed back in September on federal drug charges. She sought to authorize a recall election, but that was later replaced with a proposal by former Yona Mayor Jose Pedo Terlaje that would simply let the municipal council fill it. But then that measure got shot down when the governor vetoed it. She found that the 2013 law that gave the council appointment authority violates her executive powers.

"Prior to 2013 the regularly tested, generally accepted method of filling these vacancies was by gubernatorial appointment and that was how we did it for a number of years. In fact, we are honoring a Mayor in a state funeral on Friday who became mayor by gubernatorial appointment," Adelup Policy Director Carlo Branch said.

The 2013 law completely removed the governor from appointments, but Gov. Leon Guerrero has submitted a bill to revert back to the pre-2013 law. But senators might still have their own ideas.

"The legislature I also understand has other bills which could potentially present a fix but we want everyone to know that what we want to give the people of Yona and future villages in this situation is absolute clarity, and we don't want to create a situation where we provide more questions than we do answers," Branch said.

One of the bills is by Vice Speaker Nelson. It would first allow the vice mayor to fill the vacancy, then an appointee of the municipal council, then the executive director of the mayors council.

Meanwhile, Sen. Jose Pedo Terlaje's bill allows the governor to appoint a replacement with the advice of the municipal council. Public hearings on the measures are scheduled for next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, although Mayor Blas appointed an MPC a week ago, the Mayors Council of Guam hasn't sworn them in. According to MCOG President Angel Sablan it's on hold until the Attorney General's office issues its opinion on whether Blas actually has the legal authority to make such appointments because he's in jail and on administrative leave. The request for the legal clarification was made by Vice Speaker Nelson