HAGATÑA, Guam — Josh Tenorio and Tina Muña-Barnes kicked off their campaign for governor and lieutenant governor of Guam Sunday with a rally at their Hagatña headquarters, drawing an estimated 2,000 supporters and a motorcade of more than a thousand cars from across the island.
Tenorio, who aims to become the first lieutenant governor in Guam’s history to be elected governor, used the occasion to draw a sharp contrast between his campaign’s vision and what he described as backward-looking alternatives.
“Without question, we are better off than we were seven years ago. But a foundation is not a future unless we can build on it,” Tenorio told the crowd. “So when families feel squeezed between grocery bills and mortgage payments, when too many moms and dads know the anxiety of hoping their paycheck stretches to the end of the month, when we hear these stories, we know that we have so much more to do.”
Tenorio took aim at rival candidates, warning against returning to what he called a failed era of governance.
“They want us to go back to the same old ideas that failed for 16 years. We can’t go back to the days when it took years to get your tax refunds. We will not risk payless paydays. We will not let our people live with the threat of 32-hour work weeks,” he said. “When our opponents look to the past with rose-tinted glasses, when they try to sell yesterday as tomorrow, let’s remind them that they failed us before.”
Muña-Barnes, a legislator who has spent her career developing new industries on Guam, outlined an economic agenda centered on energy, agriculture, and technology.
“Together, we will expand working solar infrastructure so power bills shrink for everyone. We will strengthen agriculture, aquaculture, and manufacturing so more of what we consume is produced here on our island,” she said. “Josh and I will prepare Guam not just to recover, but to compete.”
Muña-Barnes also pointed to emerging sectors she said are already taking shape on the island, including 3-D printing, green growth industries, and technology careers supported by federal workforce investment.
“Looking out at the thousands of you here today, seeing your smiles, hearing your kind words, feeling your love, I know what we built together is a family,” she said. “Family is the cornerstone of our community. It’s what makes us strong. It’s what makes us proud to be from Guam.”
