For the first question: As senator, what would you do to improve our situation to retain and recruit employees?

Answer: Both employers and employees have responsibilities and roles to each other. Employees are to be obedient to their employers, managers, supervisors, overseers with respect and sincerity of heart, with goodwill rendering service to those in authority over them and to the work they are called to do. And employers, overseers ought to do the same to employees and give up threatening. The golden rule is to treat others like you want to be treated right? So this especially applies in this relationship. I would further encourage policy that supports that both employers and employees receive training in areas of active and effective communications, involving major listening, empathy and emotional intelligence type skills. I believe this would support better understanding and revitalize the respect for one another. Also have available family, grief and trauma counseling. If we treat people well, chances are high they remain employed and on island.

What Bills do you plan on introducing to strengthen the working class of Guam?

Answer: My platform is “Education is key to strengthening families, economy and public safety.” Create, support policy to educate our people to have some basic life skills, how to save, budget, how to prepare to purchase a house, a vehicle, parenting skills, strengthen our families by having them work with after school, faith-based and or non-profit programs to bridge gaps that exists with their children. Teaching children that they must be obedient to their parents and parents are not to anger their children. Incorporate grants wherein  participating families receive either funding and or tax credits.

Thank you so much, please, I humbly ask for your vote, I’m # 2 on the Republican Ballot.

More info may be found on InstaGram: votemichellehopetaitano. Take care & God Bless!!

Hafa Adai! My name is Vince Borja, and I am a republican candidate for the 37th Guam Legislature. Thank you to the Guam Federation of Teachers. Most importantly, I want to thank the Guam public school system’s teachers and staff for their work in preparing Guam’s future for the challenges and success ahead of them.

My wife is a school counselor in a public school, so believe me when I say that I hear you and know that DOE needs help. I understand and hear how bad the conditions are in the school, how understaffed the schools are, how under-resourced the teachers are, and how much engagement is needed to boost morale across the schools.

I am a product of the public school system, and more notably, I am a product that came from an underserved community. So, when my wife shares her daily experiences with some of the kids, the good and mostly the bad, I think back on how bad of a kid I was. But it also reminded me how much our teachers care and how much the staff care as well. Most teachers back in my time, knew I needed a lot of guidance and discipline.

With the state of our society due to the pandemic and its impact on our students and their education, I could not imagine the pressure and stress that this responsibility as an educator brings.

As a former educator, from the university to teaching career education in high school and middle school, I understand how much work goes into supporting our students. I always share with my friends and family that as an educator, you are a teacher, a school aide, a social worker, a therapist, and a nurse assistant.

I want my message to be very clear, I HEAR YOU, AND I WANT TO FIGHT YOU. You are Guam’s frontliners to the many social problems our children face today. It is because of caring teachers and staff that people like me, people who come from families with no structure or families with no guidance or support. I’ll never forget the one thing my English teacher told me in high school, “never to allow where you come from to determine where you go in life””

So again, thank you, GFT, for this opportunity and for those who took the time to read this. My name is Vince Borja, # 3 on the Republican side, and I ask for just 1 of your votes to serve you in the 37th Guam Legislature

As senator, what would you do to improve our situation to retain and recruit employees? What Bills do you plan on introducing to strengthen the working class of Guam?

The local government will be in a stronger position to help all employers retain and recruit employees by supporting families across our island deal with inflationary impacts on the costs of goods, services, and utilities.

Senators must put their ideas forward and approve policies that reduce the cost of government particularly in an artificial economy. In addition to supporting measures requiring regular review and modernization of salaries and tying increases to measurable outcomes/deliverables, I would back policies that focus on assessing whether certain public services can be outsourced in order to reduce costs without jeopardizing availability and quality.

I would also ensure that any savings that are realized are shifted to new programs that subsidize healthcare costs for employees. Savings could also be used to support new businesses by covering a portion of the fees that are paid to the government, including permit application costs and upfront payments that are required to access sewer and other utilities. The opening of new businesses and expansion of existing ones mean more employment opportunities and options for our families and a stronger economy overall.

As your senator, I have and will continue to contribute to the difficult but important work of strengthening Guam’s working class by supporting the Business Privilege Tax rollback which the ruling political party refuses to even consider.

Restoring the BPT to 4% will help keep money in the hands of Guam’s working class, by reducing the costs of goods and services. Reducing the BPT will also compel  GovGuam to live within its means and avoid growing government the way it has as evident in the recently approved FY 2023 budget.

Creating a more efficient and effective government is also critical to supporting Guam’s working class. I’ll consider putting forward legislation that supports responsible public-private partnerships for improvements to our healthcare facilities, schools, and roads – all of which are necessary for a strong island community. My legislative agenda will also prioritize the modernization of certain government services using technology – similar to my previous efforts which funded additional security cameras to augment GPD and other law enforcement agencies.

Hafa Adai, 

Thank you for the opportunity to respond. To paraphrase the question raised, “how do we recruit new talent and maintain existing personnel when we can offer only low wages, a reduction in overall life opportunities, and a high cost of living?” So my first question is, “has this ever been a problem before, and if so, how did we resolve it?”  And the answer is yes, this was a problem in the past and the solution then was to provide incentives for new recruits.  For those that remember or are just in the know, we provided Doctor’s Quarters and Teacher’s Quarters in the 1960’s to compensate for the low wages offered. You can still visit the old Doctor’s Quarter’s at Sagan Kotturan CHamoru (CHamoru Cultural Center) at Oka Point. 

My platform addresses this issue head on in a two-tiered approach, short-term and long-term. Short-term will be achieved through the implementation of a Local Incentives Package Service-to-the-Community (LIP Service). LIP Service would involve instituting 4-day work weeks, expanding opportunities for paid off-island professional development trainings/classes for GovGuam workers, and adjusting the threshold for government assistance for those on fixed incomes.  This is a work in progress and our team is open to any and all suggestions as we move to complete this package. 

Long-term, we will establish Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF’s). SWF’s are state-owned investment funds used to benefit the country’s infrastructure, economy, and its citizens.  Though seemingly obvious, the importance of which, I will explain.  For the sake of argument, let’s say It takes two pizzas to feed the entire island.  Currently, we have only one pizza, compliments of Federal appropriations and the tourist industry.  So whoever is in need, the one pizza will be divided accordingly. Which means, everyone does get a slice, but everyone still goes to sleep hungry.  Why? Because no matter how many times you divide the one pizza it is still not enough.  So how do we get the second pizza? We build for it by establishing  Sovereign Wealth Funds.       

QUESTION: As senator, what would you do to improve our situation to retain and recruit employees? What Bills do you plan on introducing to strengthen the working class of Guam?

ANSWER: Recruiting and retaining employees throughout the years has been an issue when it comes to the comparison of competitive wages. There has been an attempt to ensure that employee pay competes nationally. Locally, the disparity in pay will continue due to economic forces. It is important to consistently revisit laws that already exist with regard to mandatory pay reviews for all Government of Guam and private sector employees.

With regards to the private sector, once again, this continues to be an issue of market forces as we know Guam is predominantly a service industry economy built on tourism. The other leg of our economy which is combined by both military and federal spending is very strong and for most positions, most federal positions wages are extremely attractive for many of our island’s working class. The primary driver for a competitive and attractive private sector with wages equal to most developed areas within the US will be driven by an educated/trained workforce. We are already trying to accomplish this through economic diversification. Recently, Senator Therese Terlaje introduced Bill No. 277-36 (COR). I am happy to say that I was a primary mover in this legislation of bringing in additional technology with cables under the Guam Telephone Authority (GTA). I believe that this is an excellent model for economic diversification for creating high tech jobs and attracting big businesses to invest in our island ie: Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

When it comes to legislation and introducing bills, at this time I do not have specific bills drafted, however, I am always open to meeting with stakeholders to discuss how we can address the foreseen issue regarding this matter. For the Government of Guam, we should continue to review and enhance pay scales where appropriate and necessary ie: teachers, nurses, law enforcement, etc. Through bills, GEDA is the main driver along with our higher education institutions: GCC, UOG and the Guam Trades Academy. Bills will be designed around opportunities with these premier institutions to receive targeted funding for workforce development and possible tax incentives for new investment in economic diversification.

Bill No. 277-36 (COR) HISTORY