Island leaders clash during talks to rebuild Simon Sanchez

A push to get a new Simon Sanchez campus for the Sharks drenched in tension between the administration and the legislature.

Committee Chair on Education, Senator Chris Barnett, made a splash with his comments during a town hall meeting on the matter, aimed at Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Governor Josh Tenorio.

During the town hall, Sen. Barnett said, “I have to say this because I'm the kind of person who’s going to have to say what needs to be said… the Governor and Lt. Governor have been in office for six years, and we have seen no action on Simon Sanchez.”  

His remarks caused visible disagreement from the pair. 

In response, the Lieutenant Governor mouthed the words “not true,” but his microphone was turned off. 

“You lied, you lied,” exclaimed Barnett. 

And amid crossed arms, shaking heads, and inaudible rebuttals, Barnett advised the student body in attendance not to let Lou and Josh “dacun” them for another 10 years.

Demanding the time for talking is over.

Barnett added, “Governor and Lt. Governor–build Sanchez now!  

The call to action caused students to erupt in protest, cheering, “Rebuild Sanchez.” 

But following Barnett’s comments, Senator Tom Fisher warned students that they’ve been exposed to “Demagoging,” which by definition, is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. 

Sen. Fisher said, “What you just heard to get you whooped up is only vaguely true. Don’t get buffaloed. You’re high school students; you’re not children anymore–you make up your own mind.” 

Those high school students even captured their island leaders in a heated exchange.  

Oversight chair responds

Meantime, KUAM reached out to Senator Barnett and the governor's office for a response on the encounter. 

"As a senator duly elected by the People of Guam, I am well within my rights and duties to speak on the issues on the record at a Legislative hearing," Sen. Barnett said in a statement to KUAM. "All I said was what everyone in that gym was thinking. There shouldn’t any issues with me speaking up for the students, especially when I’m speaking on Adelup’s record of performance. The Governor and Lt Governor looked very uncomfortable hearing me speak up for the Sanchez community. They seem very out of touch with the realities happening on our island. I committed to speaking for those without a voice, and I don’t care whose toes I step on when I’m fighting for the kids. They deserve better. It’s unfortunate the Governor chose to act the way she did after the hearing. When it was clear to me how angry she was, I realized there was no point in continuing the encounter, so I turned to walk away."

'He better be man enough'

Adelup issued a response Thursday night. 

“We all want to rebuild Simon Sanchez High School now, but nothing Senator Barnett said or did yesterday will actually make that happen. Even one of his closest senatorial allies, Senator Perez,
told yesterday’s crowd in a remarkable moment of candor that Senator Barnett’s bill will do nothing to fix the current protest," the governor's office stated in a news release issued to the media. "That’s the difference between a politician and a leader…When a politician speaks, you cheer but leave just as empty handed as you came. It’s been ten months since the Legislature changed Guam law to simplify the procurement process used to rebuild Simon Sanchez. Now, with the design complete, the Department of Public Works would like to select a Construction Manager and put them to work, but this cannot proceed because of an Attorney General who has willfully chosen to abandon his Organic Act duties and the Simon Sanchez community."

Adelup wrote how the Governor Leon Guerrero called senators into special session twice to address the problem so projects like Simon Sanchez would not be delayed again.

"Yet, Senator Barnett and others like him did nothing to help. That’s because, for him, complaining about Simon Sanchez is better politics than letting the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration build it," the release states. "Governor Leon Guerrero is an open book who has always told the unvarnished truth when the moment demanded it. Senator Barnett is a foot taller and at least one hundred pounds heavier. If he wants to lie about her and the issues she cares about in public, then pretend to be friendly in private, he better be man enough to hear the whole truth and nothing but. We are thankful for every student who attended yesterday’s town hall and hope they saw beyond the grandstanding to a simple truth: democratic government is hard work. It’s inefficient. And too often, it’s frustrating—but it’s better than the alternative. If we stay focused and rely on information rather than ignorance, then we will be defined not by our obstacles but by the people who worked to overcome them.”