Lou Leon Guerrero

Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero (born November 8, 1950) is a Guamanian politician serving as the ninth Governor of Guam, since 2019. Leon Guerrero previously worked as a nurse and served as a senator in the Legislature of Guam from 1995 to 2005.[1]

Lou Leon Guerrero
9th Governor of Guam
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
LieutenantJosh Tenorio
Preceded byEddie Calvo
Senator of the Guam Legislature
In office
January 2, 1995 – January 3, 2005
Personal details
Born
Lourdes Aflague Leon Guerrero

(1950-11-08) November 8, 1950
Guam, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Jeffrey Cook
Children2
ResidenceGovernment House
EducationCalifornia State University, Los Angeles (BSc)
University of California, Los Angeles (MPH)
University of Washington (GrDip)
WebsiteOfficial website

On November 6, 2018, Leon Guerrero defeated Republican nominee, Lieutenant Governor of Guam Ray Tenorio in the general election, becoming the first Democrat to serve as Governor of Guam since Carl Gutierrez left office in 2003.

Early years

Born in Guam, Leon Guerrero is the daughter of Jesus Sablan Leon Guerrero (1927–2002), who founded the Bank of Guam,[2] and Eugenia Calvo Aflague Leon Guerrero. She has two brothers, Jesse and Anthony (1952–2005). She attended Academy of Our Lady of Guam High School and then moved to the U.S. mainland to study and work in Southern California. She earned degrees at California State University, Los Angeles (Bachelor's Degree, Nursing, 1973) and at University of California, Los Angeles (Master's Degree, Public Health, 1979).[3][4]

Career

Leon Guerrero worked as a staff nurse at Santa Monica Hospital in Santa Monica, California, US before returning to Guam in 1980. She worked at Guam Memorial Hospital in 1980, eventually becoming the hospital's assistant nursing director. She then went to work at the Family Health Plan clinic and served as Director of Operations (1990–1994).[3]

Public life

In politics, Leon Guerrero served as a senator of the 23rd, 24th, 26th, 27th, and the 28th Guam Legislatures.[5]

23rd Guam Legislature

In 1994, Leon Guerrero ran as senator for the 23rd Guam Legislature. In the general election, she placed 9th with 20,168 votes.[6]

24th Guam Legislature

Leon Guerrero ran for reelection to the Guam Legislature in 1996. In the general election, she placed 8th with 20,050 votes.[7]

Ada/Leon Guerrero Gubernatorial Ticket (1998)

In 1998, Leon Guerrero ran as the running mate of Senator Thomas C. Ada in a primary gubernatorial challenge of the incumbent ticket of Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Z. Bordallo.

26th Guam Legislature

In 2000, Leon Guerrero ran for a seat in the 26th Guam Legislature. There was no primary election that year, and in the general election, Leon Guerrero placed 5th overall with 18,748 votes.[8]

27th Guam Legislature

In 2002, Leon Guerrero stood for election in the Guam Legislature. She placed fifth in the Democratic primary election with 14,112 votes. In the general election, Leon Guerrero placed fifth with 23,651 votes.[8]

28th Guam Legislature

In 2004, Leon Guerrero ran for re-election. After placing fourth in the Democratic primary election with 7,983 votes, Leon Guerrero garnered 14,853 votes in the general election and placed fourteenth.[9] During this term she authored 27 bills, 9 of which became public laws.

Business career

In 2007, Leon Guerrero was honored as Guam's Small Business Administration's Women in Business Champion.[4] She then attended Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, graduating from its program in 2009.[10] Succeeding her father and her brother, Leon Guerrero is the Chairwoman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Bank of Guam.[4] In August 2011, she was appointed director of the BankGuam Holding Company, and is also a director at Teleguam Holdings, LLC.[5]

She is also President of the Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce,[2] and the chairwoman of Guampedia.[11]

Governorship

In February 2017, former senator Leon Guerrero officially announced her bid to be the next Governor of Guam. The Bank of Guam President selected Joshua Tenorio, Vice President of Guam Auto Spot, to be her running mate in the upcoming Democratic primaries. The Leon Guerrero/Tenorio ticket faced-off with 3 other Democratic tickets: the Aguon/Limtiaco ticket, the Gutierrez/Bordallo ticket, and the Rodriguez/Cruz ticket. They emerged victorious with 32% of the primary vote. Leon Guerrero was elected as Guam's first female governor after defeating the Tenorio/Ada Ticket in the general election with 50.7% of the vote.

Personal life

Guerrero married attorney Jeff Cook. She has two children, Joaquin and Mariana.[3]

She was diagnosed with COVID-19 on August 10, 2020.[12]

References
  1. Guam Legislature 2006 (SECOND) Regular Session
  2. "Board members". Guam Women's Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. 109th Congress 2006, p. 5989.
  4. US Congress 2010, p. 5399.
  5. "Bankguam holding co (BKGMF:OTC US)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  6. Guam Election Commission. Election 1994 Comparative Analysis Report, Hagatna, Guam
  7. Guam Election Commission. Election 1996 Comparative Analysis Report, Hagatna, Guam
  8. Guam Election Commission. Election 2002 Comparative Analysis Report, Hagatna, Guam
  9. Guam Election Commission. Election 2004 Comparative Analysis Report, Hagatna, Guam.
  10. "Guerrero, Lourdes". Reuters. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  11. "Lourdes A. "Lou" Leon Guerrero". Guampedia. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  12. "Guam Governor tests positive for Covid-19". rnz.co.nz. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

Bibliography
Party political offices
Preceded by
Carl Gutierrez		 Democratic nominee for Governor of Guam
2018		 Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by
Eddie Baza Calvo		 Governor of Guam
2019–present		 Incumbent
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