2004 Guamanian general election

General elections were held in Guam on November 2, 2004 in order to elect all 15 members of the legislature, the federal delegate, mayors of 14 cities, vice mayors of three cities, the public auditor, the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, two judges of the Superior Court, running for retention and the Guam Public Education Policy Board. Voters also voted on the President of the United States although the territory sent no representatives to the electoral college. There was also a referendum on allowing gambling, which was rejected by voters.[1]

Background

In the United States territory of Guam, elections to the Legislature and multi-member boards are run via open primary (This following the outlawing of the previous blanket primary similar to Louisiana).[2]

Both the Public Auditor and Consolidated Commission on Utilities are required to be nonpartisan and as such candidates are not allowed to state affiliations or list them on the ballot.[3][4]

In the case of the Auditor, affiliating with a party is grounds for disqualification.[4]

Campaign

A total of 30 candidates ran for 15 seats in the Legislature, with both the Democratic and Republican parties nominating a full slate.

The Guam Bar Association conducted an internal survey to determine feelings towards the two judges running for retention. Both were given strong marks of approval by the less than 100 members.[5]

During the run-up, "Proposition A", the gaming/gambling legalization measure received significant coverage. A group called "Citizens for Economic Diversity" proposed it.

Legislative candidates

Guamanian legislative election, 2004

November 2, 2004
All 15 seats of the Legislature of Guam
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mark Forbes Ben Pangelinan (lost re-election) Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat At-large district At-large district Last election 6 seats 9 seats Seats won 9 6
Speaker before election Ben Pangelinan Democratic Elected Speaker Mark Forbes Republican

Democratic candidates

• Frank B. Aguon Jr. (I)
• John B. Benavente
• Mark C. Charfaurous
• Benjamin J. F. Cruz
• Harold J. Cruz
• Teresita R. Cruz
• F. Randall Cundiffe (I)
• Luis P. Duenas
• John E. Farnum
• Judith P. Guthertz
• Romeo M. Hernandez
• Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero (I)
• Sedfrey M. Linsangan
• Tina Muna Barnes (I)
• Teodoro "Ted" S. Nelson
• Adolpho B. Palacios Sr.
• Speaker Vicente C. Pangelinan (I)
• Don Parkinson
• Daniel T. Perez
• John M. Quinata (I)
• Rory J. Respicio (I)
• Antoinette D. Sanford (I)
• Judith T.P. Won Pat

Republican candidates

• Joanne M. Salas Brown (I)
• Vincent C. Camacho
• Michael W. "Mike" Cruz
• Bertha M. Duenas
• Edward J. Baza Calvo
• Christopher M. Duenas
• Sylvia M. Flores
• Mark Forbes
• Victor A. Gaza
• Lawrence F. Kasperbauer
• Robert "Bob" Klitzkie
• Jerone T. Landstrom
• Jesse "Jess" Anderson Lujan
• Noel Silan
• Ray Tenorio
• Antonio "Tony" R. Unpingco

Declined

• Dr. Carmen Fernandez (D)

Results

President of the USA

Despite not having any electoral votes, Guam approved of George W. Bush by 64% over John Kerry. Ralph Nader and Steve Badnarik both received less than one percent.

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
George W. Bush	Republican Party	21,490	64.08
John Kerry	Democratic Party	11,781	35.13
Ralph Nader	Independent	196	0.58
Steve Badnarik	Independent	67	0.2
Total		33,534	100
Source: Guam election

Delegate

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Madeleine Bordallo	Democratic Party	31,051	97.38
Write-ins		837	2.62
Total		31,888	100
Source: Guam election

Legislature

In the election to the legislature, the top fifteen vote-getters are elected, and the remaining candidates aren't. A recount was held due to the closeness of the vote counts of the critical 15th/16th candidates. As a result, Joanne Brown (Republican), an incumbent, pushed then Speaker Ben Pangelinan into 16th place with a two-vote lead.[6]

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Republican Party	228,177	51.82	9
Democratic Party	211,904	48.13	6
Write-ins	232	0.05	–
Total	440,313	100	15
Source: Guam election

Auditor

Candidate	Votes	%
Doris Flores Brooks	30,627	98.80
Write-ins	371	1.20
Total	30,998	100
Source: Guam election

Utilities Commission

Candidate	Votes	%
Thomas Ada	24,839	46.84
Gloria Nelson	13,227	24.94
Eloy Hara	8,146	15.36
Jesus Lizama	6,577	12.40
Write-ins	239	0.45
Total	53,028	100
Source: Guam election

Judicial retention

Both judges standing for retention kept their seats by large majorities.

Education board

Elections for the Guam Education Policy Board suffered for a shortage of candidates: Only in the district of Luchan were there more running then returned (4, including write-in, for two seats). In the other two 2 seat districts, the second had to be filled by write-in, and in the 3 seat Lagu district, NO candidates were on the ballot, resulting in a 100% write-in return.

Mayors

Ten Republican mayors were elected against four Democratic mayors and all three vice mayors. The vice mayor of Barrigada, June Blas was elected without opposition.

Referendum

Shall proposal A, an initiative to establish the Guam Casino Gaming Control Commission Act be adopted by the voters of Guam?[1]

Choice	Votes	%
For	13,311	38.54
Against	21,223	61.46
Invalid/blank votes		–
Total	34,534	100
Registered voters/turnout	54,940
Source: Direct Democracy

References

1. Guam (USA), 2 November 2004: Allowing of gambling Direct Democracy (in German)
2. Richard Winger. "Ballot Access News July 1, 2004". Retrieved December 3, 2006.
3. "Public Law No. 26-76". Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
4. "Office of The Public Auditor - Guam - Enabling Legislation". Retrieved December 3, 2006.
5. Zita Taintano. "Guam Bar Association surveys members about judicial retention". KUAM-TV. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
6. "GEC completes recount: Brown beats Pangelinan by 2 votes for 15th seat". Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved December 3, 2006.