Benjamin Cruz
Benjamin Joseph "BJ" Franquez Cruz (born March 3, 1951) is a Chamorro lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as the Speaker of the 34th Guam Legislature from 2017 to 2018 and as Vice Speaker from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Guam Legislature from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2008 to 2018. He was Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court from 1999 to 2001. In September 2018, Cruz was elected to serve as Public Auditor of Guam.
Benjamin Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Auditor of Guam | |
| Assumed office September 13, 2018 | |
| Governor | Eddie Calvo Lou Leon Guerrero |
| Preceded by | Yukari Hechanova (Acting) |
| Speaker of the Guam Legislature | |
| In office January 2, 2017 – September 13, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Judith Won Pat |
| Succeeded by | Therese M. Terlaje (Acting) |
| Vice Speaker of the Guam Legislature | |
| In office January 5, 2009 – January 2, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Dave Shimizu |
| Succeeded by | Therese Terlaje |
| Member of the Guam Legislature | |
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 1, 2007 | |
| In office March 7, 2008 – September 13, 2018 | |
| Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court | |
| In office April 21, 1999 – August 31, 2001 | |
| Appointed by | Carl Gutierrez |
| Preceded by | Peter Siguenza |
| Succeeded by | Peter Siguenza |
| Associate Justice of the Guam Supreme Court | |
| In office October 13, 1997 – April 21, 1999 | |
| Appointed by | Carl Gutierrez |
| Preceded by | Monessa Lujan |
| Succeeded by | Frances Tydingco-Gatewood |
| Judge of the Guam Superior Court | |
| In office 1984 – October 12, 1997 | |
| Appointed by | Ricardo Bordallo |
| Preceded by | ??? |
| Succeeded by | ??? |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Joseph Franquez Cruz March 3, 1951 Guam, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Claremont McKenna College (BA) Santa Clara University (JD) |
| Website | Official website |
Early life and education edit
He was born Benjamin Joseph Franquez Cruz on March 3, 1951, in Guam, the second child and only son of Juan Quenga Cruz ("Tanaguan") and Antonia Cruz Franquez. His father, who had just been elected Commissioner (Mayor) of Piti, was killed by Marcelo "Mar" C. Biscoe in 1956 when Cruz was five years old.[citation needed]
In 1960, while in Guam, Cruz's mother married Vicente Cruz Guerrero ("Tico"). They resettled the whole family in California in 1962.They returned to Guam intermittently, where Cruz attended grade school at St. Francis School in Yona.
He went to St. John Bosco High School in California until 1968. His bachelor's degree political science and economics was obtained in 1972 from the Claremont Men's College, and his Juris Doctor in 1975 from the Santa Clara University School of Law.
Career edit
Upon graduation in 1975, Cruz returned to Guam to work as Consumer Counsel in the Attorney General's Office.
Four months later, Governor of Guam Ricardo J. Bordallo, who had just begun his first term in office with Lieutenant Governor of Guam Rudy Sablan, asked Cruz to serve as the Governor's Legal Counsel, which he did for Bordallo's first term through January 1979.
Between Bordallo's two gubernatorial terms, Cruz established a private practice and served as Minority Legal Counsel to the 15th and 16th Guam Legislatures. In 1983, Governor Bordallo was elected to his second term as Governor of Guam with Lt. Governor Edward Diego Reyes. Bordallo appointed Cruz to head the Washington, D.C., Liaison Office. There, he served as Liaison to the White House, the United States Congress, and the National Governors Association.
In 1984, Bordallo appointed Cruz to be a Judge of the Superior Court of Guam. At 33, Cruz would be one of the youngest attorneys ever appointed to be a judge. His appointment was controversial, and several leaders of local Protestant churches testified against the confirmation, citing sexual preference as disqualifying Cruz from being a good judge. Despite these interventions, Cruz was confirmed by the legislature and began a 17-year career in the island judiciary.
Cruz spent the first nine of his seventeen years as a Superior Court Judge with the Family court, where he was an advocate for establishing and improving services for juvenile offenders and troubled youth. As a trial court judge, Cruz presided over the controversial lawsuit filed regarding the implementation of the Chamorro Land Trust Act. He issued the landmark decision ordering the Act's implementation.
In 1997, Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez appointed Cruz to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam. He served as Associate Justice until 1999, when his colleagues elected him Chief Justice. Cruz served as Chief Justice from April 21, 1999, until August 31, 2001, when he retired from the judiciary.
Prior to his appointment as Superior Court judge, Cruz held key positions in the Democratic Party of Guam. He served as executive director under Franklin J.A. Quitugua and was Guam National Committeeman in the Democratic National Committee. Cruz returned to politics after his retirement from the judiciary in 2002, to chair the successful campaign of Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo. Between 2003 and 2005, Cruz once again served as Democratic National Committeeman.
In 2003, Cruz was appointed by U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton to be one of five members of the Guam War Claims Review Commission, established by the Congress to report and make findings relative to compensation for the victims and survivors of the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II. The Federal Commission has issued a report to Congress recommending compensation. A bill is now pending in the Congress that, when passed, will finally compensate victims and survivors.
Gutierrez-Cruz campaign (2006) edit
In 2004, Cruz was elected to the 28th Guam Legislature and was the highest democratic vote getter. In 2006, Cruz ran for Lt. Governor with Former Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez in the 2006 Democratic primary against former Delegate Robert A. Underwood and Senator Frank Aguon. The Underwood-Aguon ticket won the primary but lost in the general election to Republican Governor Felix Perez Camacho and Lt. Governor Michael Cruz.
Vice-Speaker of the Guam Legislature edit
On January 7, 2008, Cruz was the victor in a special election to fill a vacancy in the 29th Guam Legislature left by the unexpected passing of former republican Speaker Antonio (Tony) R. Unpingco. The election of Cruz shifted the majority of the 15-seat At-large Legislature from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
In July 2008, Cruz worked to convince Navy Rear Admiral William French, Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas and other U.S. Navy officials to ease restrictions on the access of local veterans to the island's only VA Clinic located in a gated Naval hospital facility.[1] [2]
In 2009, Cruz introduced Same-sex Civil Union Legislation on behalf of the Guam Youth Congress. The legislation has been publicly opposed by Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron, Archdiocese of Hagatna, Guam. In July 2009, Cruz revised the legislation to provide for Domestic Partnerships between any two people. This legislation has also been opposed by the Catholic Church on Guam. Apuron has called for fasting and prayer for the Guam Legislature to reject the legislation.
Personal life edit
Cruz's nomination to be a Judge in the Superior Court of Guam in 1984 was marked with protests from evangelical and Baptist church groups because he was gay. Cruz was later confirmed as a judge and was assigned to lead the Family Court for nearly ten years. Cruz revealed a longstanding homosexual relationship in a local article published in Latte Magazine in 1995. Cruz eventually became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam and was featured in an article in The Advocate about his homosexuality.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ George, Duane M. (July 7, 2008). "Veterans soon eligible for yearlong pass: New benefit will help Guam vets making visits to VA clinic". Local. Pacific Daily News. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Guam's veterans to get one-year pass to Navy Hospital clinic", Marianas Variety, July 7, 2008, retrieved July 7, 2008
- ^ , The Advocate, November 25, 1997, archived from the original on October 26, 2004, retrieved February 16, 2008