James Virata Espaldon (born June 21, 1956), also known as Jim Espaldon, is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, Espaldon is a former candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature. The first popular election for governor and lieutenant governor took place in 1970. The current lieutenant gov ...

in the 2010 gubernatorial election as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

Michael Cruz Michael Warren "Mike" Cruz, M.D. (born September 8, 1958) is a Guamanian surgeon and former politician who served as the 8th Lieutenant Governor of Guam from January 1, 2007 to January 3, 2011. Biography Personal life Cruz was born on Septembe ...

. He placed fourth in the 2014 Guam Elections for the

Legislature of Guam The Legislature of Guam ( ch, Liheslaturan Guåhan) is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature a ...

. On May 31, 2018, Espaldon announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018.

Early life

Espaldon was born on June 21, 1956 in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to Dr. Ernesto "Ernie" Mercader Espaldon (1927–2006) who served as a senator for six terms in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st Guam Legislatures, and Dr. Leticia Virata (1928–2020), an

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

. He is also the grandson of Cipriano Acuña Espaldon and Claudia Cadag Mercader. Espaldon graduated from Father Duenas Memorial High School in 1975. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early career

Espaldon has held jobs in the

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

and

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

industries during his early career. He previously worked as an

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

farmer on the island of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Espaldon then transitioned to retail management at

ABC Stores ABC Stores is a chain of convenience stores based in Honolulu. The chain operates 73 stores, 57 of which are located in the state of Hawaii, with the remaining locations in the Mariana Islands and Las Vegas and Guam. The company now generates m ...

in Hawaii before returning to Guam. He worked in Guamanian real estate before becoming director for facilities services at a

medical clinic Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

. He obtained a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law Claude Pettit College of Law is the professional graduate law school of Ohio Northern University. Located in Ada, Ohio, it is the second oldest law school in Ohio, having been founded in 1885. The college is centered in Tilton Hall, a modern buildi ...

in 2003.

Career

Espaldon worked as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for the

Supreme Court of Guam The Supreme Court of Guam is the highest judicial body of the United States territory of Guam. The Court hears all appeals from the Superior Court of Guam and exercises original jurisdiction only in cases where a certified question is submitted t ...

under Judge Alberto C. Lamorena III prior to entering

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. He joined the Guam bar association in September 2006. Espaldon was first elected as a senator in the

the 29th Guam Legislature in November 2006. He was sworn into office on January 1, 2007. Espaldon was re-elected to second term in November 2008 for the 30th Guam Legislature, serving until January 3, 2011. Lt. Governor Michael W. Cruz, a candidate for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election, chose Espaldon as his running mate for the election. The announcement was made at the Cruz-Espaldon headquarters in

Piti Piti may refer to: * Pīti, a mental factor in Buddhism * PITI, the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance sum of a mortgage payment * Piti (food), a soup dish of Central Asia * Piti (footballer) (born 1981), Spanish footballer * Piti, Guam * P ...

on May 4, 2010.

Candidate for senator (2014)

On July 1, 2014, Espaldon filed for candidacy with the Guam Election Commission for a new term as a Republican senator for the 33rd Guam Legislature. Former senator Espaldon was a senator for the past two terms. Ex-senator Espaldon won the election with more votes in 2014, but won in the November election when he came to his office on January 5, 2015.

33rd Guam Legislature

After placing fourth in the island-wide election, Espaldon was chosen by his colleagues in the 33rd Guam Legislature. On February 25, 2015 Senator Espaldon introduced Bill No. 44-33 (COR) to add a new (h) to §5201 of 22 GCA relative to the use of an individual's credit history in the employment process. In March 2015 Senators Espaldon, Rodriguez and Vice Speaker Cruz introduced Bill No. 54-33 (COR) to amend § 4301(b) of 4 GCA, Relative to the Calculation of Government of Guam Group Health Insurance Plan Employee Contributions.

Retirement

On May 31, 2018, Espaldon announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018, keeping his pledge when he ran in 2006 to only serve four terms in the legislature. After announcing his retirement, Espaldon is planning to run for attorney general, but he recently declined.

Personal life

Espaldon is married to a hairdresser Gilda Respicio Eay, father to Christian James and Victoria, also an adoptive daughter to Jonte Perez De Leon who is married to SUP Shack Guam member Lad De Leon. He also has two adopted granddaughters Gabrielle "Gabby" and Mylee de Leon and one grandson Landon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espaldon, James 1956 births Claude W. Pettit College of Law alumni Guamanian lawyers Guamanian people of Filipino descent Guamanian Republicans Living people Members of the Legislature of Guam Menlo College alumni