A SHORT ANALYSIS OF GUAM'S DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY ELECTION OUTCOME

By Tim Rohr

Many Guam voters are scratching their heads over the outcome of the Democratic gubernatorial primary. 

Many think Josh's loss is due to the PUA scandal. I'm not one of them. In fact, as I've shared publicly among friends, such scandals, in Guam (and elsewhere), have historically proven to be a resume enhancement. So it "ain't" that.

The answer is actually very simple, and it was the constant mantra of the late-great Bob Klitzkie, who told me many times that in Guam a decent-looking female candidate, regardless of her other credentials, would always have an automatic edge over a male candidate, regardless of his credentials, even if they are superior to his female opponent.

Bob's theory holds up under his other mantra (though not his alone) that Guam elections are little more than beauty contests, beauty contests which even trump the "pari" system. 

Therese Terlaje, even though she is not as young in real life as her campaign pictures show her, nevertheless knows how to present well. 

Add to that her academic and professional credentials, credentials most Guam voters traditionally give points to, as well as her respected lineage, and voila, you have the top vote-getter in several past senatorial elections, and, thus, no surprise that she is the winner on the Democratic side. 

But, you may say, the same formula did not work for Mary Torres. Well, there's one more thing. 

While Torres is a woman and far better looking than Jim Moylan, Moylan, even in the last election when he triumphed over someone who might have been a beauty queen at one point, has a quality that overcomes Klitzkie's mantra, and speaks to Guam voters louder than sex and looks: warmth. 

Jim has the sort of smile that automatically makes you like him, trust him...and vote for him, at least in Guam, and regardless of any merit. 

The bottom line, though, is that vote-getting comes down to one thing: presentation, which upholds the old saying: "If you don't have a pretty face, learn how to sing." Moylan learned how to sing. Josh and Tina didn't.