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Greetings!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our August 26th General Membership Meeting presentation and discussion, which basically challenged all of us to consider Guam’s economic future this election. The strong member attendance and candid member feedback confirmed that our community is ready for a more practical conversation: one focused on jobs, affordability, government performance, and the conditions businesses need to survive and grow.
The presentation by the GYP and our Chairman, Ed Untalan, also opened many eyes to the broader value of Guam’s employers. A business supports more than its owners. It provides jobs and wages, purchases goods and services from local vendors, supports household spending, develops employees, and contributes to the recurring revenue that pays for public services.
Members also raised an urgent challenge. Guam must prepare for long-term growth while helping existing businesses and employees navigate today’s difficult economy. We need action, not another plan that ends without implementation. Candidates running for office should explain what they will do in their first months in office, who will be responsible, when the work will be completed, and how success will be measured.
The discussion reinforced an important reality: Guam cannot sustainably commit more government spending without explaining how it will be paid for. At the same time, fiscal responsibility cannot mean relying indefinitely on higher taxes imposed on the same businesses and families.
Project Prosperity empowers residents to ask candidates to identify their priorities, explain how they will fund them, show where government can operate more effectively, and present a credible plan for growing the private-sector economy that ultimately supports public services.
The Chamber will continue its own institutional advocacy on economic growth and government performance. Separately, Project Prosperity will bring participating business and community organizations together for nonpartisan voter education. The program will not endorse, grade or rank candidates. It will ask the same questions of everyone and help voters decide for themselves.
What comes next?
- Project Prosperity's presence on the Chamber's website containing the initiative, priorities, questions, participants and forum information.
- A neutral candidate questionnaire focused on jobs, affordability, public services, government performance and sustainable revenue.
- Ongoing Chamber advocacy work to document business conditions and the contribution employers make to Guam’s economy and public revenues.
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Public forums with equal treatment and clear participation rules:
- October 1: GYP Senatorial Forum (Democrat Candidates)
- October 7: Gubernatorial Forum
- October 8: GYP Senatorial Forum (Republican Candidates)
- October 28: Congressional Forum
We invite every member to read the materials, share them with employees and colleagues, participate in the forums, and encourage a fact-based public conversation. Guam’s future depends on protecting the businesses and jobs we have today while creating the opportunity we will need tomorrow.
Thank you for your continued leadership and support.
Onward together,
Catherine Castro
President
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