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Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero (born November 8, 1950) is an American politician who has served as the 9th
governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territor ...
since 2019. She was president and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the Bank of Guam from 2007 to 2017, having previously served as a senator of the Guam Legislature from 1995 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Leon Guerrero grew up in Guam, earned a BS in Nursing from California State University in 1973 and an MPH from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1979.Guam Legislature
''Resolution No. 27-31(COR).''
Hagatna, Guam.
After working as a nurse in California and the Guam Memorial Hospital for several years, Leon Guerrero worked for Family Health Plan clinic and became its director of operations before her entry into public service. Leon Guerrero served as Senator in 5 separate legislative terms from 1995 to 2007.Guam Election Commission. ''Election 2004 Comparative Analysis Report,'' Hagatna, Guam. She was Senator Thomas C. Ada's running mate during the 1998 Democratic gubernatorial primary against the incumbent Gutierrez-Bordallo ticket.Guam Election Commission
''Election 1998 & 2000 Comparative Analysis Report''
Hagatna, Guam.
Leon Guerrero left public service in 2007 to serve as president and CEO of the Bank of Guam until 2017, when she began her successful campaign for governor of Guam with running mate Josh Tenorio. Leon Guerrero has served as governor since her inauguration in 2019.Haidee Eugenio Gilbert
''Crowd: Governor's speech inspires, is realistic,''
Hagatna, Guam.


Life before public service


Early life and education

Born in Guam, Lou Leon Guerrero is the daughter of Jesus Sablan Leon Guerrero (1927–2002), founder of the Bank of Guam, and Eugenia Calvo Aflague Leon Guerrero. She has two brothers, Jesse and Anthony (1952–2005). She attended the Academy of Our Lady of Guam High School and then moved to the U.S. mainland to study and work in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
. Leon Guerrero earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...
in 1973. She attained a
Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health or Master of Philosophy in Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.), International Masters for Healt ...
and at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...
in 1979. In 2009, she went back to school in Seattle, Washington to receive a masters degree from Pacific Coast Banking School.


Career

Lou Leon Guerrero worked as a staff nurse at Santa Monica Hospital in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, US before returning to Guam in 1980. She worked at Guam Memorial Hospital in 1980, eventually becoming the hospital's assistant nursing director. She then went to work at the Family Health Plan clinic and served as Director of Operations (1990–1994). In 1989, Lou Leon Guerrero, as the president of the Guam Nurses Association, provided the sole testimony from a Chamoru woman against Bill 848, a legislative measure intended to outlaw abortion on the island. In politics, Leon Guerrero served as a senator of the 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, and the 28th Guam Legislatures.


Legislative career


Entry to the Guam Legislature (1995–1999)


23rd Guam Legislature

Lou Leon Guerrero first ran to become senator in the Guam Legislature in 1994. Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election after having placed 9th, with 10,611 votes, in a field of 30 candidates in the Democratic Party of Guam's legislative primary election held on September 3, 1994. Leon Guerrero won election, receiving 20,168 votes and placing 9th in the general election on November 8, 1994. Leon Guerrero was inaugurated to serve in the 23rd Guam Legislature on Monday, January 2, 1995. During her first term in the Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero was in the majority and sponsored or co-sponsored 18 public laws.


24th Guam Legislature

Lou Leon Guerrero ran for reelection into the 24th Guam Legislature in 1996. Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election after having placed 12th, with 10,185 votes, in a field of 31 candidates in the democratic primary election of September 7, 1996. She won reelection, receiving 20,050 votes and placing 8th in the general election on November 5, 1996. As a minority member of the 24th Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero sponsored or cosponsored 6 public laws.


Return to the Guam Legislature (2001–2007)


26th Guam Legislature

Lou Leon Guerrero returned to public service in 2000, when she ran for a seat in the 26th Guam Legislature. The legislative primary election was cancelled that year, so Leon Guerrero automatically advanced to the general election held on November 7, 2000. She secured a seat in the legislature by placing 5th in the legislative general election with 18,748 votes. As a minority member of the 26th Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero sponsored 5 public laws.


27th Guam Legislature

Lou Leon Guerrero stood for election in the
27th Guam Legislature The 27th Guam Legislature was a meeting of the Guam Legislature. It convened in Hagatna, Guam on January 6, 2003 and ended on January 3, 2005, during the 1st and 2nd years of Felix P. Camacho's 1st Gubernatorial Term. In the 2002 Guamanian gene ...
in 2002. Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election after placing 3rd in the Democratic primary election on September 7, 2002 with 14,112 votes. Leon Guerrero placed 5th in the general election on November 5, 2002 with 23,651 votes. As a majority member of the 27th Guam Legislature, Leon Guerrero sponsored 21 public laws.


28th Guam Legislature

Lou Leon Guerrero ran for re-election into the 28th Guam Legislature in 2004. After placing fourth in the Democratic primary election on September 7, 2004 with 7,983 votes, Leon Guerrero advanced to the general election. Leon Guerrero was elected into the 28th Guam Legislature, placing 14th and garnering 14,853 votes in the general election on November 2, 2004. During this term she authored 27 bills, 9 of which became public laws. As a senator in the 28th Guam Legislature.


Legislative accomplishments

Lou Leon Guerrero authored the public law which created the Healthy Futures Fund, which currently funds medical care and cancer research in Guam. In addition, she introduced and secured the passage of the Natasha Protection Act, which regulates public smoking.


Business career

In 2007, Leon Guerrero was honored as Guam's
Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...
's Women in Business Champion. She then attended Pacific Coast Banking School at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
, graduating from its program in 2009. Succeeding her father and her brother, Leon Guerrero is the Chairwoman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Bank of Guam. In August 2011, she was appointed director of the BankGuam Holding Company, and is also a director at Teleguam Holdings, LLC. Leon Guerrero was deemed Guam’s 2010 Executive of the Year by Guam Business Magazine.


Involvement in non-profit activity

Since its founding in 2009, Lou Leon Guerrero has served as Board Chair for Guampedia.Guampedia
''Governor Lourdes A. “Lou” Leon Guerrero.''
Hagatna, Guam.
Leon Guerrero was a founding member and served as the first President of the Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce.


Elections


1998 lieutenant gubernatorial candidacy

Incumbent Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Z. Bordallo had two Democratic primary election challenges for
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and
Lieutenant Governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country ...
in 1998. Lou Leon Guerrero was chosen as the running mate of Senator Thomas C. Ada, and Senator Angel L.G. Santos ran with Mayor Jose "Pedo" Terlaje. The "Tom and Lou" ticket placed 2nd in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on September 5, 1998 with 9,788 votes.


2018 gubernatorial candidacy

In February 2017, former senator Leon Guerrero officially announced her bid to be the next
Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( ch, I Maga'låhen / ) is the head of government of Guam and the commander-in-chief of the Guam National Guard, whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Island (formerly the State of the Territor ...
. The Bank of Guam President selected Joshua Tenorio, Vice President of Guam Auto Spot, to be her running mate in the upcoming Democratic primaries. The Leon Guerrero/Tenorio ticket faced-off with 3 other Democratic tickets: the Aguon/ Limtiaco ticket, the Gutierrez/Bordallo ticket, and the Rodriguez/Cruz ticket. They emerged victorious with 32% of the primary vote. Leon Guerrero was elected as Guam's first female governor after defeating the Tenorio/Ada Ticket in the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
with 50.7% of the vote.


2022 gubernatorial candidacy

Leon Guerrero is running for reelection, with Josh Tenorio as her running mate.


Governor of Guam (2019–present)

Lou Leon Guerrero was inaugurated on January 7, 2019, as the 9th Governor of Guam at the University of Guam Calvo Field House in Mangilao.


Policy initiatives


Minimum wage increase

Leon Guerrero expressed her support for a proposal to raise Guam's minimum wage to $9.25 in September 2019. She signed the bill increasing in the minimum wage in stages in October 2019. The first stage, increasing the minimum wage to $8.75 per hour went into effect in March 2020. A bill has since been passed and signed into law by Governor Guerrero delaying the increase in the minimum wage by 6 months, to reduce its impact to businesses during the Covid-19 Pandemic. However, the minimum wage is still set to reach $9.25 per hour in September 2021.


War claims advance payments to World War II survivors

Speaker
Tina Rose Muña Barnes Tina Rose Muña Barnes (born August 24, 1962) is a Guamanian politician, currently serving as her 7th term as a senator in the Guam Legislature. She formerly served as the Speaker of the 35th Guam Legislature from 2019 to 2021. Family Tina Muña ...
introduced a bill to expedite the payment of war claims to survivors of atrocities committed on Guam during World War II in July 2019. In October 2019, the Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio and Chief of Staff Tony Babauta visited Washington, D.C., to lobby for war claims, among other administration initiatives. Congressman Michael San Nicolas claimed that the local bill to pay war claims was a sham. Leon Guerrero signed the war claims bill into law on January 3, 2020. The first war claims checks were distributed at a ceremony on January 29, 2020. By February, hundreds of Guam World War II survivors received their compensation through the local advance payment system.


Management of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Guam


"Path to Half" vaccination campaign

Leon Guerrero announced an ambitious "Path to Half" vaccination campaign at a press conference on March 15, 2021. She set the goal of vaccinating half of Guam's adult population by May 1. The Path to Half benchmark was met 3 days ahead of the deadline of May 1.


Personal life

Guerrero married attorney Jeff Cook. She has two children, Joaquin and Mariana, and seven grandchildren.


References


Bibliography

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon Guerrero, Lourdes Aflague 1950 births 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American chief executives American women chief executives Bank presidents and chief executive officers Chamorro people Democratic Party governors of Guam Governors of Guam Guamanian Democrats Guamanian women in politics Living people Members of the Legislature of Guam UCLA School of Public Health alumni University of Washington alumni Women bankers Women state governors of the United States