Rudolph Sablan
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Rudolph Guerrero Sablan (November 13, 1931 – July 24, 1995) was a Guamanian politician and member of the
Democratic Party of Guam The Democratic Party of Guam is a political party in Guam affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Its origins lie in the Popular Party, which was the only political party on Guam until 1956.Guampedia''Democratic Party of Guam'' Hagatna, 20 Aug ...
. Sablan served as the second
lieutenant governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected List of Governors of Guam, governor, List of current United States lieutenant governors, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature of Guam, Legislature. The first p ...
from January 6, 1975 to January 1, 1979 under
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Ricardo Bordallo Ricardo Jerome "Ricky" Bordallo (; – ) was an American politician and businessman, who served two terms as the second and fourth governor of Guam with Lieutenant Governor Rudy Sablan from 1975 to 1979, and with Lieutenant Governor Edward Dieg ...
.


Biography


Early life and education

Sablan was born in Agana,
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, which is now known as Hagåtña. He graduated from
Father Dueñas Memorial School Father Dueñas Memorial School (FDMS) is an all-male Catholic high school located in Chalan-Pago census-designated place, in the United States territory of Guam. It is within the territory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agaña. The school ...
in 1950 as the
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
of his class. Sablan attended
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
from 1950 to 1952 and received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
1954 from the former
Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...
of
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, which is now part of
Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...
."3 Chosen For GES Positions"
''
Guam Daily News The ''Pacific Daily News'', formerly ''Guam Daily News'', is an online newspaper based in Hagåtña, in the United States territory of Guam. It is owned by Kaleo Moylan. History ''Guam Daily News'' began as a newspaper of the United States Navy, ...
'', Agana, Guam, volume XXIII, number 22, January 25, 1958, pages 1 and 12. Note: GES is Guam Employment Service.
Sablan was hired by a Navy Public Works Center after college before being drafted in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in 1956. He attend basic training in Hawaii and remained there to serve as an
intelligence analyst Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of delibera ...
and
area studies Area studies, also known as regional studies, is an interdisciplinary field of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/ federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what a ...
specialist with the 14th Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Battalion. He served until December 1957 and returned to Guam after an
honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
.


Career


Civil service

Once he had returned to Guam, Sablan took a job within the territorial government. He was quickly promoted to administrative positions within government agencies, including the Director of Labor and Personnel by 1961. His work caught the attention of Governor Manuel F.L. Guerrero, who appointed Sablan as both assistant
Secretary of Guam The secretary of Guam was the equivalent of the lieutenant governor when the governorship was still appointed by the president of the United States. The office became the lieutenant governor of Guam when island residents began electing the positio ...
and executive assistant to the Governor during the 1960s. The appointments allowed Sablan to oversee much of Guam's
executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
.


Political career

In 1974, Governor
Carlos Camacho Carlos Garcia Camacho (November 16, 1924 – December 6, 1979) was an American politician noted for being the first elected governor of Guam, serving in the position from 1971 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served ...
, a Republican and the first elected
Governor of Guam The governor of Guam ( / ) 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 Territory) addresses to t ...
, sought re-election for a second term, together with his Lt. Governor Kurt Moylan. Four Democrats declared their intention to challenge Camacho, including
Ricardo Bordallo Ricardo Jerome "Ricky" Bordallo (; – ) was an American politician and businessman, who served two terms as the second and fourth governor of Guam with Lieutenant Governor Rudy Sablan from 1975 to 1979, and with Lieutenant Governor Edward Dieg ...
, former Gov. Manuel Flores Leon Guerrero (who teamed with David D.L. Flores as his
running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...
for Lt. Governor); Pedro C. Sanchez, the former President of
University of Guam University of Guam () (U.O.G.) is a public university, public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level and ele ...
(who teamed with Esteban U. Torres), and Joaquin C. "Kin" Arriola (teamed with
school principal A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role ...
, Ted S. Nelson). On the Republican side, a rival team, Senator
Paul McDonald Calvo Paul McDonald Calvo (July 25, 1934 – October 16, 2024) was a Guamanian politician who served as the third governor of Guam from 1979 to 1983. Before his accession to the governorship, Calvo served in the Guam Legislature from 1971 to 1975. He ...
with running mate Tony Palomo, challenged Governor Camacho for the GOP nomination. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ricardo Bordallo chose Rudy Sablan as his running mate for Lt. Governor. The Bordallo-Sablan team won the 1974 Democratic primary election, defeating the three other candidates. Governor Carlos Camacho won the Republican nomination, beating the Calvo-Palomo ticket, but badly dividing Guam's Republican Party. The Republican split worked to the Democrat's advantage, allowing Bordallo to defeat Governor Camacho in the November gubernatorial election. Governor Bordallo and Lt. Governor Rudy Sablan were sworn into office on January 6, 1975. Sablan became the second elected Lt. Governor in Guam's history. However, Bordallo and Sablan frequent, public spats and disagreements on policy issues plagued the Bordallo-Sablan administration throughout their four-year term. The political relationship between the Governor and Lt. Governor broke down by the 1978 general election. In 1978, Rudy Sablan ran against Governor Bordallo in the gubernatorial election. Sablan chose Jose L. "Joe" Leon Guerrero as his running mate for Lt. Governor, while Governor Bordallo replaced Sablan with Dr. Pedro C. Sanchez, a
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
and educator, on his ticket. Governor Bordallo defeated Sablan in the 1978 Democratic primary, taking 34.2% while Sablan-Guerrero placed second with 25% of the vote. Ricardo Bordallo ultimately lost his re-election bid to Republican Paul McDonald Calvo in November 1978. Four years later, Sablan once again announced his candidacy for Governor of Guam in the 1982 gubernatorial election. Sablan again picked his Joe Leon Guerrero, as his running mate for Lt. Governor (Sablan and Guerrero had also run on the same ticket in 1978). However, the Sablan-Guerrero lost a rematch in Democratic primary to Ricardo Bordallo and his new running mate, Edward Diego Reyes. Bordallo defeated Sablan by 35 percentage points in the Democratic primary to win the nomination. Bordallo, in a second political rematch from 1978, then beat Governor
Paul McDonald Calvo Paul McDonald Calvo (July 25, 1934 – October 16, 2024) was a Guamanian politician who served as the third governor of Guam from 1979 to 1983. Before his accession to the governorship, Calvo served in the Guam Legislature from 1971 to 1975. He ...
in the November 1982 general election. (Calvo had previously ousted Bordallo from office in 1978).


Later career and life

Governor Ricky Bordallo appointed Sablan as a member of Commission on Self-Determination, which oversaw the future relationship between Guam and the United States, from 1983 until 1987. Sablan remained a proponent the Guam Commonwealth Act, even after the end of the Bordallo-Reyes administration in 1987. In December 1989, Sablan testified in support of the Guam Commonwealth Act at the sole U.S. congressional hearing on the Act, which was held in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
. In 1983, Sablan was appointed Chairman of the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of the Guam Airport Authority, a territorial government agency which operates the island's international airport (now known as Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport). Under Sablan, the airport's terminals and runways were modernized and expanded to encourage a growing tourism industry. Sablan worked to reconcile the various, often infighting, factions of the
Democratic Party of Guam The Democratic Party of Guam is a political party in Guam affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Its origins lie in the Popular Party, which was the only political party on Guam until 1956.Guampedia''Democratic Party of Guam'' Hagatna, 20 Aug ...
by 1993. He endorsed the 1994 gubernatorial campaign of Governor
Carl Gutierrez Carl Tommy Cruz Gutierrez (born October 15, 1941) is an American (U.S. citizen) politician who was the sixth governor of Guam, serving two four-year terms with Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Bordallo from January 2, 1995, to January 6, 2003. Guti ...
and Lt. Gov.
Madeleine Bordallo Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo (; born May 31, 1933) is an American-Guamanian politician who served as the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for from January 3, 2003, to January 3, 2019. She is the first woman ever to serve as Guam' ...
and has been credited with helping the Gutierrez-Bordallo team win the 1994 general election. Sablan became an integral advisor to the new Gutierrez administration. Governor Carl Gutierrez appointed Sablan to the Commission on Self-Determination from 1994 until his death in 1995. (Sablan had previously served on the Commission from 1983 to 1987 under Governor Ricky Bordallo). In 1994 and 1995, Gutierrez appointed Sablan as part of a team who represented Guam at the Base Reuse and Realignment Commission hearings in
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. Sablan died on July 24, 1995 (equivalent to the early morning of July 25, Guam time) at the age of 63.


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sablan, Rudy 1931 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Guamanian politicians Boston College alumni Burials in Guam Chamorro people Guamanian Democrats Lieutenant governors of Guam Loyola Marymount University alumni United States Army soldiers