Eddie Calvo

Eddie Calvo
8th Governor of Guam
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Lieutenant Ray Tenorio
Preceded by Felix Perez Camacho
Vice Speaker of the Guam Legislature
In office
January 1, 2007  March 7, 2008
Preceded by Joanne Salas Brown
Succeeded by David Shimizu
Senator in the 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th, and 30th Guam Legislature
In office
January 4, 1999  January 3, 2011
Personal details
Born Edward J. Baza Calvo
August 29, 1961
Tamuning, Guam, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Christine Lujan Sonido
Children Eddie
Vinson
Rosae
PJ
Melva
Celine
Alma mater Notre Dame de Namur University

Edward J. Baza Calvo (born August 29, 1961) also known as Eddie Baza Calvo, is an American politician and governor of the United States territory of Guam since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Calvo was a five-term Senator within the Legislature of Guam. He became the Governor of Guam, having defeated Democrat Carl Gutierrez in the 2010 gubernatorial election.[1] Calvo chose Senator Ray Tenorio as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Guam.[2]

Personal life and education

Calvo was born on August 29, 1961, in Tamuning, Guam, U.S. and is the son of Governor Paul McDonald Calvo, who served as the Governor of Guam from 1979 until 1983, and former Guamanian First Lady Rosa Herrero Baza.[3] His paternal grandparents were former Congressman Eduardo Torres Calvo and Veronica Mariano McDonald Calvo, who resided in Maite, Guam.[3] His maternal grandparents were Antonio Camacho Baza, a former United States Marshal, and Delores Cruz Herrero, who resided in Sinajana, Guam.[3]

Calvo initially attended Father Dueñas Memorial School in Guam before moving to California, where he graduated from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California, in 1979. Calvo received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California.[2]

He is married to Christine Lujan Sonido. The couple have six children:[2] Eddie, Vinson, Rosae, PJ, Melva and Celine.

Career

Calvo worked in the private sector before entering politics in the late 1990s. He formerly worked as the General Manager of the Pacific Construction Company and the Vice President and General Manager of the Pepsi Bottling Company of Guam.[2]

Calvo, a Republican, was first elected as a Senator in the Guam Legislature in 1998,[2] taking office in 1999. He has since been elected to five terms in office (with a two-year break after his defeat in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary in 2002). Calvo has served as both the Vice Speaker and Acting Speaker of the Legislature during his tenure in office.[2]

In 2002, Calvo ran for Lieutenant Governor of Guam as the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate, Tony Unpingco, the former Speaker of the Legislature.[2] However, the Unpingco-Calvo ticket was defeated in the Republican primary election by gubernatorial candidate Felix Camacho,[2] who went on to be elected Governor in the 2002 general election.

Governor of Guam

2010 election

On April 30, 2010, Calvo announced that he would leave the Legislature at the end of his present term.[3] In the same speech, Calvo simultaneously told supporters at Chamorro Village that he intended to seek the Republican nomination for Governor of Guam in 2010.[3] He chose Senator Ray Tenorio as his running mate.[3]

Calvo-Tenorio went on to defeat Lieutenant Governor Michael Cruz in the Republican primary election on September 4, 2010 and ran against former Democratic Governor Carl Gutierrez and his running mate, Senator Frank Aguon.[2] The Calvo-Tenorio ticket won the 2010 gubernatorial election by a slim margin, and although the final count was enough to win the election, it was still within 2% of the Guiterrez Aguon ticket. Immediately after the election, a recount was ordered by the Guam Election Commission.[1]

2014 election

Governor Eddie Calvo and Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio announced their intention to seek re-election for a second, four-year term. The team held the first official rally to kickoff their campaign on June 7, 2014, at their campaign headquarters in Anigua, following a motorcade of supporters from Yigo.[4]

Calvo again faced Democratic Nominee Carl Gutierrez in the general election.[5] Calvo defeated Gutierrez in the general election, winning 64 percent of the vote.[6]

Tenure

As Governor, Calvo has set a policy of hiring only government employees with at least a high school diploma.[6] According to Josh Barro, Calvo stopped "some of Guam’s worst fiscal practices", such as such as financing itself by delaying tax refunds, and has run consecutive budget surpluses.[6]

In February 2014, Calvo signed Bill 146, which made the Castle Doctrine the law in Guam.[7][8] Additionally, in May 2014 Calvo signed Bill 296 into law, which changed language for concealed firearms licensing from "may" to "shall", meaning that concealed firearm licenses shall be issued to an applicant who meets the various specifications.[9]

In March 2012, Calvo endorsed Mitt Romney for president.[10]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Aguon, Mindy (November 2, 2010). "Calvo/Tenorio claim victory in razor-thin race". KUAM-TV.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Calvo, Cruz take stances on issues: Sen. Eddie Calvo and Sen. Ray Tenorio". Pacific Daily News. 2010-08-23. Archived from the original on 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Calvo vs Cruz in Republican primary". Marianas Variety News & Views. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  4. Aoki, Dance (2014-06-08). "Calvo, Tenorio kick off campaign". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  5. Raymundo, Shawn (2014-10-31). "Sparks fly at Calvo-Gutierrez debate". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Barro, Josh (November 4, 2014) - "Republicans Have Already Won a Governor’s Race Today, in Guam". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  7. (February 10, 2014) - "BREAKING NEWS: Gov. Calvo Signs Castle Doctrine Into Law". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  8. Fernandez, Janna (February 10, 2014) - Press Release - "YOUR RIGHTS: Calvo Signs Ada’s Castle Doctrine into Law". Office of Governor Eddie Baza Calvo. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  9. Matanane, Sabrina Salas (May 28, 2014) - "Governor Signs 12 Bills, Vetoes 2" Kuam News. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  10. "Romney wins entire Guam delegation". CNN. March 9, 2012.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Felix Perez Camacho
Republican nominee for Governor of Guam
2010, 2014
Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by
Felix Perez Camacho
Governor of Guam
2011–present
Incumbent