The Honorable Carlos G. Camacho |
|
---|---|
7th Appointed and 1st Governor of Guam | |
In office January 4, 1971 – January 6, 1975 |
|
Lieutenant | Kurt Moylan |
Preceded by | Himself (Appointed) |
Succeeded by | Ricardo Bordallo |
In office July 20, 1969 – January 4, 1971 |
|
Preceded by | Manuel Flores Leon Guerrero |
Succeeded by | Himself (Territorial) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Carlos Garcia Camacho November 16, 1924 Agana (now Hagåtña), Guam |
Died | December 6, 1979 Tamuning, Guam |
(aged 55)
Political party | Republican Party of Guam |
Spouse(s) | Lourdes Duenas Perez (1955–1979) (his death) |
Children | 7 (including Felix and Mary) |
Alma mater |
Aquinas College Marquette University |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Carlos Garcia Camacho (November 16, 1924 – December 6, 1979) was a Guamanian politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the last appointed Governor of Guam from 1969 to 1971 and the first elected Governor of Guam from 1971 to 1975.
Camacho was born in the village of Hagåtña, Guam to Felix Martinez Camacho (1893–1975) and Antonia Cruz Garcia. His siblings included Josephine Camacho Tanaka, John Camacho, Luis Camacho, and Eddie Camacho. From 1946 to 1949, he attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1952, he earned a D.D.S. degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In the 1974 gubernatorial election, he was defeated for reelection in a re-match senator Ricardo Bordallo won the election. An election challenge by the Bordallo/Sablan campaign went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Following his unsuccessful bid for reelection as governor, Camacho resumed his career as a dentist.
At the young age of forty-four, Camacho succeeded Governor Manuel F.L. Guerrero as governor of Guam, with Kurt Moylan appointed as lieutenant governor. Camacho’s term as appointed governor lasted only eighteen months, due to the Elective Governor Act that was signed into law by the US Congress in 1968, allowing for Guam’s citizens to choose their governor. The act took effect in 1970, when Guam’s first election was held. Camacho’s term was best remembered for his Christmas 1969 visit to the troops from Guam who were fighting in Vietnam.
Camacho first selected senator G. Ricardo Salas as his running mate, but his announcement that former senator Salas takes over the running mate, as Kurt Moylan for lieutenant governor.
Camacho was a candidate in Guam's first election for governor with Kurt Moylan running for lieutenant governor. The two running mates are Republican primary, while the Democratic primary was closely between former governor Manuel F. L. Guerrero, Senator Ricardo Bordallo and attorney and former speaker Joaquin C. Arriola. After they close the primary and a contentious runoff election which is Bordallo who is defeated by Guerrero, and the general election as Camacho/Moylan defeated by Bordallo/Taitano.