Uncle Ben Reyes was not only Territorial; he was one of the leaders of the Territorial Party, and past chairman. In those days, politics on Guam had all the fervor of religion.
The poor TP was a constant loser in election after election. Most years, all 21 Popular or Democratic senatorial candidates won, called "Black Jack." Finally, in 1964, the TP won a majority in the 8th Guam Legislature with Carlos P. Taitano as Speaker. Uncle Ben was also elected; his 2nd term having served before in the 3rd Guam Legislature. But in the very next election, the TP not only lost the majority - they lost every single seat to the Democrats.
In response to this loss, some of the TP leadership moved towards organizing the Republican Party on Guam. Uncle Ben was one of the founders of that party. But not every TP member was in favor of that. Some moved to the Democrats, and some remained Territorial.
Uncle Ben's wife, my grandmother's sister, Ana, was one such Territorial. At first, she refused to quit the TP. She made Uncle Ben sleep on the couch for a while because he had gone Republican.
In time, the TP phased out completely, and Uncle Ben didn't have to sleep on the couch anymore.
Left : Carlos P. Taitano
Right : My uncle Ben, Judge Vicente C. Reyes
OLD TIME TERRITORIALS
Other past Territorials : Agueda Johnston, Antonio SN Duenas (Kaila), James Butler, Felix Carbullido, Carlos P. Bordallo, Concepcion Barrett, Vicente Aflague, Lagrimas Untalan, Eduardo T. Calvo (Jake), Paul M. Calvo, Albert T. Carbullido, Raymond Underwood, Edward G. Camacho, Francisco B. Leon Guerrero, Frank D. Perez (Goyo), Cynthia J. Torres, Gregorio D. Perez (Goyo), Lucas San Nicolas, Alberto Lamorena, Tommy Flores (Takai), Felix L. Crisostomo (Beyong), Pete P. Ada, Maria T. Garrido, Tomas S. Tanaka, Antonio Q. Sablan (Lightning), G. Ricardo Salas, Tomas R. Santos.....yan meggai ta'lo mås.
No comments:
Post a Comment