Guam News - Guam News

Guam - Both Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks and Governor Eddie Calvo have chimed in on former Governor Carl Gutierrez's candidacy for public auditor. Brooks says that as the Democratic Party Chairman Gutierrez will politicize a non-partisan office and Governor Calvo welcomes any audits that Gutierrez may want to conduct. Meanwhile Gutierrez says that these are red herrings and he will step down from party chair if put on the ballot.

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 Governor Eddie Calvo reacted to Carl Gutierrez's bid for public auditor on k57's breakfast show with Ray Gibson this morning. "Well if Carl T.C. Gutierrez wants to audit something in GovGuam well be my guest he might as well audit some of the areas he was responsible to in the past as well,” said Governor Calvo adding, "there's a reason for this deficit ray and it came over several, over several years."

 Public auditor Doris Flores Brooks is off-island but she too provided a comment to the media via an email. Brooks stated "Carl's declaration to remain chairman of his political party will politicize OPA." Brooks also cited Guam law saying that 1GCA 1903 states: "The public auditor is a non-partisan office. no candidate for the position of public auditor shall declare a political party affiliation."Brooks also stated "I want to keep OPA a nonpartisan agency that continues to issue fair and balanced audits.”

 Meanwhile Gutierrez told PNC that brooks herself has made the office political saying that she attended the Republican National Convention in the year 2000 when she was running for public auditor."As I read in a blog somewhere you can be political by commission or omission as far as I'm concerned she was political by omission by not auditing everyone and everybody in this government to make sure that there's transparency that's the issue,” said Gutierrez. The former Governor also called these comments by Brooks a “red herring” saying the only reason he hasn't resigned yet is because he is not yet on any ballot. "If I do get into the threshold and become a candidate for the general election I will certainly have to resign as a party chair that's a given,” said Gutierrez.

 This afternoon Democratic Party Executive Director Carl Branch confirmed that Gutierrez had resigned as chairman of the Democratic Party of Guam despite believing that it was a non-issue and a red herring meant to distract voters.