Sinajana Mayor Robert Hofmann recounted the late Rudy Iriarte’s last wish during a public hearing Thursday on a bill to abolish the Sinajana Vice Mayor position.

Hofmann said, “When I was up at the hospital, I was with the Vice Mayor at his bedside. And he’s like, ‘You know the mold and the stuff.’ And I’m like, ‘I know.’ He’s like, ‘Let’s spend the money that way. Let’s not spend it on the election.’ I said, ‘I'll bring it up.’ And we did bring it up to Senator San Agustin in December.”

With changing times and a declining population, Hofmann said he and Iriarte have been in talks to do away with the post for the past year, even while the vice mayor was in the hospital.

“Throughout this time, he was acutely aware of his declining health and the implications it carried,” Hofmann said.

From the cost to finance a special election to a salary for a position that’s no longer necessary. It was Iriarte’s wish to use those funds instead for more critical needs.

Hofmann said, “He firmly believed that such funds would be more meaningful to be allocated to vital public services such as the hospital or the police department, which are essentially pillars of our society.”

According to a fiscal note provided by the Bureau of Budget and Management Research, the Sinajana Vice Mayor salary and benefits amounts to $94,521.40

Guam Election Commission (GEC) Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said the Commission continues to prepare for a mandated special election set for Mar. 9 that costs about $25,000.

Pangelinan said, “Expenses include precinct officials stipend, ballot production, transportation and security, and mandated public notice…Candidacy packets for Sinajana Vice Mayor are already available for pick up at our office.”

She confirmed as of today, no one has picked up a candidacy packet yet.

Still, as bill author Senator Will Parkinson puts it, they’re hoping to fast track the measure before voters cast their ballots.

Sen. Parkinson said, “Part of what we’re doing too is to try and save costs for you folks. But I understand that until we pass this bill, you have to move as if this bill is never going to pass.”

Plus with homebound voting beginning on Feb. 26, it’s a rush to get the bill on session agenda.