Leon Guerrero delivers final address, touting economic endurance, lasting changes, and future development

BY SKYLER OBISPO 
Journal Staff

Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero delivered the 2026 State of Island Address on Feb. 11 at the Guam Congress Building; her final address as governor of Guam. 

The speech was prefaced hours prior by the Office of the Governor, which stated “[The address] will not be ceremonial. It will not be cautious. And it will not be shy about the truth.” 

Leon Guerrero credited her cabinet and the administration as a whole while criticizing certain legislative policies and backlash against some of her administration’s largest initiatives. 
She began her remarks by harking back to her first address in 2019. She said her administration had kept her promise from her first address of re-ordering the government’s financial house, strengthening public safety and welfare, and preparing Guam for its “defining moment”.

Leon Guerrero said unemployment is near a record low of 3.2% while GovGuam’s debt service is down from $92 million to $65 million. Moreover, the governor touted the raises given to teachers, nurses, law enforcement officers, and other public employees. 

“Mr. Speaker. I am proud to report Guam is stronger today than it was seven years ago — with a government that truly serves the people,” she said. 

When it came to the island’s economy, Leon Guerrero said Guam is not the same as it was in decades prior, but yet tourism remains as a revenue driving pillar and faces forces beyond the control of GovGuam: federal immigration policies, tariffs, and global currency rates. 

Despite that, she said Guam’s tourism industry is growing “unmistakably.” 

Beyond tourism, federal investments have since taken over as Guam’s economic driver. 

“Guam is experiencing monumental federal investment — at a scale few communities in America will ever see,” she said. 

The governor noted that billions have been committed for military construction, infrastructure, and housing, with more to come while calling again for the convening for the Economic Adjustment Committee by the Department of War. 

She connected workforce development with military and federal investment, and education. The example she provided was additive manufacturing and the launch of the Guam Additive Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator. 

She said the GAMMA facility connects defense needs with local talent. The Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America unveiled the GAMMA facility in November 2025 and the University of Guam and the Colorado School of Mines have partnered to allow students to study at UOG then finish their mechanical engineering degree at the School of Mines while remaining on island. 

“By aligning education with industry, industry with national strategy, and ensuring local people are participants — not spectators — we all win,” she said. 

Plus, foreign partnerships, namely with Taiwan, would advance the island’s tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, education, and medical collaboration among others, she said while continuing to engage with Korean and Japanese investors. 

Leon Guerrero also criticized the legislature’s passing of the Business Privilege Tax reduction of 5% to 4%. She said that about 90% of Guam’s businesses already pay less than 4% in BPT and the 1% reduction would result in a loss of more than $40 million in GovGuam revenue, which would be felt  especially at a time when appropriations from the federal government are uncertain. 

She criticized the legislature on the lack of reform for Guam’s procurement system as it relates to the long-awaited rebuild of the Simon Sanchez High School and the automatic stay provision. 

The potential loss of $104 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to build a new public hospital remained a talking point for the governor as the December 2026 deadline looms.

Leon Guerrero criticized the Attorney General of Guam and some members of the legislature in blocking the funding towards the hospital. 

“What do you win by being on the wrong side of history,” she said. “If we allow $104 million meant for healthcare recovery and resilience to slip away, history will not ask who won the argument.” 

While stating earlier that the military investment rakes in money for GovGuam, she also recognized that it has placed a strain on the local housing market. 

The average cost of a single-family home has risen to more than $500,000, she said, but her administration has a three-fold approach to addressing it: rehabilitating existing public housing, lowering the cost of building through aligning land use, permitting, and infrastructure to move forward without delay, and providing support to families to make housing more affordable. 

Ending her address, Leon Guerrero said the work is not yet done for Guam, but it will endure. 

“We are not finished. Not with this island. Not with one another. Not with the future we owe those who come after us,” she said. “As long as the people of Guam keep choosing each other, the work will go on.” mbj