Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo (; born May 31, 1933) is an American-Guamanian politician who served as the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2019.
She is the first woman ever to serve as Guam's Delegate, the first female
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 gove ...
(from 1995 to 2003), the first female candidate for Governor of Guam (in 1990), and the first female Democrat elected to 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 ...
. Her 1990 campaign also made her the first non-
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mari ...
gubernatorial candidate in Guam. As the wife of
Ricardo Bordallo
Ricardo Jerome "Ricky" Bordallo (; – ) was an American (U.S. citizen) politician, businessman, and serving two terms as the 2nd and 4th Governor of Guam with Lieutenant Governor Rudy Sablan from 1975 to 1979, and with Lieutenant Governor Edw ...
, she was also the
First Lady of Guam
First Lady or First Gentleman of Guam is the title attributed to the spouse of the governor of Guam. The current first gentleman is Jeffrey Cook, husband of Governor Lou Leon Guerrero
Lourdes Aflague "Lou" Leon Guerrero (born November 8, 1950) ...
from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1987.
Biography
Madeleine Mary Zeien was born on May 31, 1933 in
Graceville, Minnesota
Graceville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 529 at the 2020 census.
History
Graceville was founded in the 1870s by a colony of Catholics and named for Thomas Langdon Grace, second Roman Catholic Bisho ...
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
affiliate that was the first television station on Guam.
Bordallo was married to
Ricardo Bordallo
Ricardo Jerome "Ricky" Bordallo (; – ) was an American (U.S. citizen) politician, businessman, and serving two terms as the 2nd and 4th Governor of Guam with Lieutenant Governor Rudy Sablan from 1975 to 1979, and with Lieutenant Governor Edw ...
, who served as Governor of Guam from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1987. While serving as first lady, she worked to emphasize the arts in the classroom and to increase awareness of the local
Chamorro Chamorro may refer to:
* Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific
* Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas
* Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mari ...
culture. Bordallo's husband, the former governor, committed suicide in 1990 when his appeals were unsuccessful and convictions of witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct justice would require incarceration in federal prison. Bordallo was the first woman Democrat to be elected to the Guam Legislature, and served five terms as a senator from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1987 to 1995. During the 1988 U.S. presidential election, Bordallo was a member of Guam's uncommitted delegation to the
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 18 to 21, 1988, to select candidates for the 1988 presidential election. At the convention Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for pr ...
.
Bordallo was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Guam in 1990, following the death of her husband. Ping Duenas ran as Bordallo's
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint 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 running with a pr ...
for lieutenant governor in the 1990 gubernatorial election.
In 1994, she ran alongside
Carl Gutierrez
Carl Tommy Cruz Gutierrez (born October 15, 1941) is an American (U.S. citizen) politician who was the 6th Governor of Guam, serving two four-year terms with Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Z. Bordallo from January 2, 1995 to January 6, 2003. Gutie ...
on the Democratic ticket and was elected
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 gove ...
, serving from 1995 to 2003, the first woman in Guam's history to hold this position. In this role, she worked to promote tourism, environmentalism, and island beautification.
In 2002, as Bordallo reached her term limit and as Delegate Robert Underwood vacated his seat and attempted to run for governor, she campaigned for and was elected as a Democrat to the House, serving from January 2003 to January 2019, and was the first woman to represent Guam in Congress. She was one of six non-voting delegates to the House of Representatives. While in Congress, she devoted herself to economic issues and has helped to pass legislation that aids small businesses on Guam. She also was involved in military and environmental issues.
In April 2008, Bordallo apologized after an investigative report by the '' Pacific Daily News'' revealed that she and Senator Jesse Lujan both claimed to have degrees on their official biographies and resumes when they had not graduated from college.
In August 2018, Bordallo lost her bid for renomination for another term as delegate in the Democratic primary to territorial senator Michael San Nicolas.
Committee on Natural Resources Committee on Natural Resources may refer to:
* Philippine House Committee on Natural Resources, a committee of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
* United States House Committee on Natural Resources, a committee of the U.S. House of R ...
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and c ...
Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
The Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, a United States Congress caucus, works to improve the 9-1-1 phone system and emergency response systems.United States Senate made to the Omnibus Territories Act of 2013. Originally, the bill would have included the provisions to create a fund in the U.S. treasury to pay reparation claims to "living Guam residents who were raped, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches, or internment resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war." This provision, however, was removed from the bill. Bordallo was "extremely disappointed" by this change and said that she was "committed to continuing our fight for war claims for our manamko despite all the obstacles the conservative Republicans continue to raise." The changes were made so that the bill could pass by unanimous consent.
Elections
In January 2012, Republican Guam Senator Frank Blas Jr. announced he would challenge Bordallo in the upcoming November election for her delegate seat. Bordallo defeated Blas in the November general election. She received 19,765 votes (58%) to his 12,995 votes (38%)
In May 2012, Yale graduate and former White House intern Karlo Dizon, Democrat, also announced his bid as delegate to Congress. Bordallo defeated Dizon in the primary election, with 73% of the vote.
In 2014, she ran for delegate alongside Matthew Pascual Artero in the Democratic primary election. Bordallo defeated Artero in the primary election on August 30, 2014. Republican candidate Margaret McDonald Metcalfe announced that she would challenge Bordallo in the 2014 November election for her delegate seat.
In 2016, she was re-elected by the smallest margin, 53% to 47%, since she was first elected when she faced former Governor of Guam
Felix Perez Camacho
Felix James Pérez Camacho (born October 30, 1957) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 7th Governor of Guam from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Guam, he had previously served as a six-term senator in the ...
Women in the United States House of Representatives
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber, since the 1916 election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman i ...