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Moylan: No nepotism in appointment of new AG chief of staff | Guam News

Moylan: No nepotism in appointment of new AG chief of staff | Guam News

On Friday, a memo from the Attorney General of Guam announced the appointment of a new chief of staff following the resignation of Yolanda Elliott on Thursday. But as news reached the community, messages on social media hinted that the appointment was not on the rise.

On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Joseph Guthrie issued a memo to all OAG employees, with the subject “appointment of new chief of staff.”

“The attorney general has asked me to name a replacement for our former chief of staff, Yolanda Elliot, who resigned yesterday. In reviewing potential candidates, I have concluded that Sheenalynn Hawkins is the only person with the right temperament for the position. Therefore, I am appointing Sheenalynn Hawkins as chief of staff,” Guthrie stated in the document.

That same day, a message circulating on WhatsApp said: “Doug Moylan has apparently appointed his girlfriend as chief of staff,” casting doubt on nepotism.

Hawkins is the fiancee of Douglas Moylan, who was hired last year in the attorney general’s office along with Douglas Moylan’s brother, Scott Moylan.

Douglas Moylan told the Post on Saturday that “the hiring of family members or close friends is recognized in American politics. The most visible of this accepted practice was the late President John F. Kennedy, who hired his brother, Robert Kennedy, as Prosecutor General”. of the United States The ability to hire a chief of staff for the attorney general is at the sole discretion of the attorney general to help him deliver on his policy promises. Our office’s chief of staff is unclassified (can be terminated by the AG at will). ) position. advance the legal and political agenda of the democratically elected attorney general, including helping to fulfill the AG’s election promises. Each AG, governor, delegate, senator and mayor essentially selects a chief of staff or equivalent, who is an unclassified official. will be employed.”

Douglas Moylan defended Hawkins’ qualifications for the position.

“In this case, Ms. Sheenalynn Hawkins was part of my political campaign for Attorney General and helped me get elected. For 10 years, Ms. Hawkins also trained and helped run my private law firm before returning to attorney general. I was the first AG elected between 2003 and 2007, and now the sixth AG elected,” he said.

Hawkins was hired a year ago as a special projects coordinator in the administration division, according to personnel records.

“About a year ago, Ms. Hawkins decided to run for this elected office to help me serve the people, especially in light of the mass resignations of employees who worked under the former attorney general, especially attorneys. Due to my professional and personal relationship with her, I submitted a notice that I would not participate in her employment application, especially since she was qualified by having previously worked in my private law office for approximately 10 years,” said Douglas Moylan.

While Douglas Moylan said he didn’t think there was any reason to disqualify himself from Hawkins’ decision, he did so anyway.

“I don’t think it was necessary to disqualify me, but I did it out of good form. Mrs. Hawkins is neither my relative nor my wife. She was clearly qualified to work in this public law office, as she was trained by me and worked in my private law office,” Douglas Moylan said.

As special projects coordinator, Hawkins earned $75,392. Now, as chief of staff, she will see a considerable salary increase.

“Our former chief of staff resigned on Thursday and received about $127,602. COS deputies earn $111,946.00. Ms. Hawkins’ salary is the same as the previous unclassified COS, terminable and at will. Recognizing the need to fill this important position and Ms. Hawkins’ proven abilities and desire to deliver on my policy promises to voters, I asked the deputy chief to select a chief of staff to serve him and me. He knew she wanted the job, talked to her and selected her. I could have selected it myself,” Douglas Moylan said.

Douglas Moylan credited Hawkins with being able to recruit prosecutors and attorneys to do the attorney general’s criminal and civil legal work.

“Thanks to Ms. Hawkins, I have been able to hire around 32 of the more than 200 off-island attorney applicants to date to serve my clients. He also reviewed and interviewed more than 150 non-attorney applicants and nearly 800 applications to work at this law office. This is a law firm, and not the Department of Parks and Recreation, I need competent, dedicated and loyal staff to fulfill my difficult law enforcement agenda. The number of prosecutors and attorneys needed for this law firm has increased, especially following the Supreme Court of Guam’s May 31, 2024 decision that required a conflict-free pool of attorneys, from 55 to 96 prosecutors and attorneys.” said Douglas Moylan.

He also noted that working for him “is not easy.”

“I demand performance and results from all my staff for our taxpayers and especially to protect our people from criminals. This requires a team of attorneys to provide leadership, administration, support staff, prosecutors, investigators, paralegals, and administrative staff. We employ about 200 attorneys and staff, which varies from month to month, and we are the largest law firm on Guam,” said Douglas Moylan.

He said Hawkins was selected based on the aforementioned considerations.

“I clearly believe she is the right choice. Again, he could have selected her as the AG’s COS, which is an unclassified political position (which can be terminated at will) that functions at the discretion of the AG, just like the governor, senators, delegates, mayors and other elected officials ”, Douglas Moylan. saying.

Hawkins wasn’t the only recent hire.

“Yesterday I also hired a second deputy chief of staff. Mr. Tomás Paulino and Mrs. Anna Nicole Pérez were hired. And, like Ms. Hawkins, (they) were existing AG employees,” Douglas Moylan said.