Voters swim

against the tide

Bucking the strong Democratic tide on the mainland, which saw the Republicans lose control of the Senate, Amer ica’s Pacific voters gave solid support to Republican candi dates. The results included:.

The defeat of Guam governor Richard Bordallo by Republi can territorial senator Joe Ada.

Bordallo had been indicted for corruption in office two months before the election; the re sounding re-election of Con gressman Ben Blaz, the first term republican from Guam; the re-election of Democratic Congressman Fofo I. F. Sunia of American Samoa who defe ated Republican Aumoevalogo S. Soli in the islands’ first election on party lines; an upset loss of a Democratic con gressional seat in Hawaii the Democratic candidate would have been the first ethnic Sa moan to hold a seat in the Congress; a string of victories by women, particularly in Guam.

The Guam victories by Blaz and Ada were not unexpected; Blaz had secured many more votes than his opponent, for mer National Guard general, Frank Torres in the non binding September primary (November PIM, page 15).

Similarly, Bordallo’s principal activities over the past three months have been directed against the 11-count indictment handed up by a Federal Grand Jury and pressed by the Reagan-appointed US Attorney.

But while the Democrats were losing the governorship and the congressional race, they managed to increase their previously slim hold on the Guam Senate.

As voting ended, it apeared they won 13 seats to the Re publicans’ eight. The previous lead was 11-9 with one vacancy.

The four women incumbents in the Guam Senate (Septem ber PIM page 14) were all re-elected, with Marilyn Man ibusan, the Republican minority leader (and her party’s chair) the top vote winner on 21,393.

Also re-elected were three Democrats, Senators Elizabeth Arriola, Pilar Lujan and Hermi nia Dierking.

Newly elected were two other women, Marcia Hartsock (D) and Martha Cruz Ruth (R).

With six of its 21 seats (28.6 per cent) held by women, the Guam Senate has a larger

percentage of women than any other island jurisdiction.

Male senators re-elected for two year terms were Democrats Don Parkinson (who had the second highest vote), Ted Nel son, Joe San Agustin, Frank Quitugua, Franklin Gutierrez and Frank Santos.

Republicans George Bamba, Eddie Duncan, Alberto Lamorena, Jerry Rivera and Jim Miles, who had been elected in 1984, but subse quently resigned his seat, were all re-elected.

New Senators are Dr Ernesto Espaldon (R), and three Demo

crats Sonny Shelton, Pedro Sanchez and John Quan.

Congressman Sunia outpol led his Republican opponent 5,073 to 4,067, although he had defeated Soli by a larger margin two years earlier. Voters in American Samoa also elected the lower house of its territorial legislature, an election which is not run on party lines.

The Governor, A. P. Lutali has two years still to run.

While Hawaii voters returned long-time Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye, they rejected the congressional bid of Mufie Han nemann, an ethnic Samoan and a native of Hawaii.

Standing 6 feet 7 inches tall, he is a former island athletic star and was the first person of Samoan descent to graduate from Harvard University.

Had Hannemann, a Deomocrat, won, he would have been the first Samoan to hold a voting seat in the House of Representatives.

Hannemann was defeated in the Second Congressional Dis trict by State Senator Patricia Saiki who became the first Republican elected to the House of Representatives since Hawaii became a state.

One Republican who prob ably should have stayed in the Pacific was Congressman Fred Eckert, a one-term Congress man from up-state New York.

After a career in the New York State Senate, he was appointed by the Reagan ad ministration as Ambassador to Fiji. He was also assigned to Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu.

He left the Pacific two years ago to run successfully for the House but last month had the distinction of being one of the few sitting Republican con gressmen to lose their seats.

The Washington Post attri buted Eckert’s defeat to, among other things, the former ambas sador’s “abrasive style.”

David S. North.

Congressman Blaz - resounding victory.