Democrat gubernatorial team

Dennis Rodriguez, Jr.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a dad and a husband. My wife and I grew up quick when we had our daughter, Ashley. We had to. It was either we try to be good parents or choose the unthinkable. For us, that could never be an option, and the fact that the law gave us that choice drove us to our fundamental belief that all life is sacred. No one has a right to take away the life of another.

Lena and I learned just how much our parents loved us, when we found ourselves changing our plans for the baby, just like they did for us. College was no longer an option for us. I went straight to work. Lena did, too. A few months later, Ashley showed up. It’s been the three of us ever since, well, until Dennis G. and Daniel came into our lives.

That experience really shaped who we were and how we’d look at this world. Ashley’s birth didn’t just speak to us about the life v. choice movement. It’s where we began to favor the little guy; the single mother, the struggling family, the outcast; the people on the outskirts of society, the marginalized, the underdog and the defenseless. For a while, we were that struggling family. We knew what it was like to worry whether we could actually feed another person, much less pull off being parents.

We made it. But not without the doubt and the stigma that came every time someone told us we were too young.

If someone were to ask me what I’d change about my life, I’d say, ‘Nothing.’ There isn’t a single second I’d trade. I’d be born to Dennis and Sonia Rodriguez on July 17, 1978 at the old GMH. I’d be baptized into the Catholic Church and I’d receive Communion with Christ. I’d meet Governor Ricky Bordallo and know I wanted to be just like him when I grow up. I’d be raised without toys, helping my mom with her store until late at night. I’d get in trouble for the rules I broke. I’d hassle through the same regrets and learning moments. I’d meet Lena, marry her, and have our kids exactly the same way. I’d take all the odds and ends jobs and start those businesses, including the small shop with the liberty machines that I shut down before running for senator.

I’d campaign for the legislature all four times and I’d lead the health committee from start to finish. I’d be the lone voice in the Legislature fighting against the closure of F.Q. Sanchez Elementary School. I’d be the first to break ranks with the Democrats in order to support the plan to pay tax refunds.

David Cruz

I started my career as a teacher, it’s what I am today, and chances are I’ll be back in the classroom after serving as your lieutenant governor, if you’ll have me. I’m a quiet guy, which is ironic because for as long as I can remember, I’ve always sought out to make a difference for Guam.

I was born on Guam on September 15, 1949 to David and Rosalia Cruz. We lived on Guam until I was four. That’s when we began moving to bases around the world before coming back home. I was fortunate enough to bring home a bachelor of science degree in math-science field study and education from the University of Maine, Fort Kent. I saw so much potential in everyone and everything, but it was all hidden beneath what seemed to me like a veil of inferiority. It was like we didn’t believe we could do the things others throughout the world were doing. So I decided I could do something about it, starting in the classroom. I became a teacher.

I taught math and science for 10 years before I went back to school for a degree in marine biology from California State University, and a master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. I came back home and joined the Air National Guard.

I was a young man back then, and that’s when my family started. I was married to my first wife and we had David (I’m a junior, so he’s the third), Deborah, and Derek. Our marriage didn’t work out. I wish I could tell you I’m somehow blessed with the ability to never make mistakes, but I’m like everyone else. I have my flaws; there are times in my life I could have tried harder and then there have been failures, even when I tried my best.

By this time my career in the Air Force was in full swing. I started as a disaster preparedness officer before I became Group Resource Manager, then Executive Officer, the Commander of the 254th Air Base Group.

Work had taken up my life. The universe can really put things into balance in ways we never imagine. And the saying, “God works in mysterious ways?” No kidding. God sent me Jenny- her kindness, strength, and companionship. I saw love and I couldn’t let her get away. We got married in 2002, and together with my children, the Cruz family grew with Julianne, Ronald Laguana II, and Jessica, our children from Jenny’s previous marriage. Both David and Deborah live in the states. Deborah has three of our grandson- Tyler, AJ, and Benjamin. Julianne, who is married to Colin Perez, has our only two grandchildren on island-Beau and Alex.