A New Day for Guam

White background with illustrations of the faces of Ricardo Bordallo and Richard Taitano with a depiction of an arm raised holding a torch in between them. Red text on top and blue text on bottom

In 1970, Guam held its first election in which Guamanians were given the freedom to elect their governor. Running in the election was Ricardo Bordallo, who served on the fifteen member Guam Legislature. Bordallo ran alongside Senator Richard "Dick" Taitano, who sought the position of Lieutenant Governor. At the time, Guam's Democratic Party held claim over seventy-two percent of the voting population. Regardless, there lied deep divisions within the party's members on how the group should be run, causing for a lack of unity. Bordallo and Taitano would go on to win the primaries by a slight margin, allowing them to face off in the general election against Republican candidates, Carlos G. Camacho and Kurt S. Moylan. However, the conflicting nature of the Democratic Party, as well as an aggressive ad campaign by the Republicans would go on to cost Bordallo and Taitano the election. Bordallo would again run for the 1974 election, ultimately winning. 

Serving as Governor of Guam from 1975 to 1979 and 1983 to 1987, Bordallo's political career would end in 1987 when he was convicted on charges of corruption and sentenced to prison. Just prior to beginning his prison sentence, Bordallo committed suicide.