Senator William Parkinson is making changes to his political status town halls—after criticism that residents weren’t getting enough time to speak. He announced that this wednesday in Malesso’, the educational portion will be cut back—with most of the two-hour session dedicated to hearing directly from villagers.

"So there is a significant public appetite for something to happen regarding our political status especially how fast they are seeing things changing in the Pacific especially the tensions between the US and China with Guam right in the middle, which is why I am pushing this so hard because time is of the essence," he said.

The southern village meeting is the third in his series—following Yigo and Mongmong-Toto-Maite. The Malesso’ town hall starts at 6 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center and runs until 8.

He continued, "These town halls are not just for educational purposes. When these town halls are done, there will be real policies, there will be real policies that come out of these discussions. I encourage people to come out and be part of the deepening conversations."

Parkinson says community input is shaping his political status push, including considering a simpler referendum question for 2026. More village meetings are expected to be announced soon.