Truth

Ginger Believes Names and Nicknames Belong on Ballots

TRUTH: As Ginger said repeatedly, opponents twisted her words. At a campaign speech she noted she felt that campaign “logos” (slogans) should not be printed on GEC ballots along with names. Names and nicknames are helpful and should be on the ballot. Keep reaching Jim.

ginger's plan sees guam as a thriving airline hub

Ginger’s Plan sees Guam as a thriving airline hub that will raise salaries for airline employees as more companies compete for your skills.

ginger will fight for guam and fas citizens

Truth: More lies. Just ask former Congressmen Mike San Nicolas, or Robert Underwood. Moylan lost Compact Impact for Guam - $300 million dollars. He has done nothing to get it back. Ginger’s platform clearly lays out how she will fight to get compensation for Guam and support the FAS citizens living and working on Guam.

GINGER CRUZ PAYS HER TAXES ON GUAM

Truth: Ginger Cruz does file and pay her taxes on Guam, she has been for years. Her accounting firm - Burger, Comer and Associates, is a top Guam firm. More lies. Try harder Jim.

DOD EXPERIENCE

TRUTH: Every time a new article about our lead in the polls comes out, our opponent counters with another outrageous lie.


The truth is, my work was to support the Department of Defense and U.S. Embassies in the Middle East. That’s why I rented an apartment (not a penthouse) in Lebanon. The people I worked with continue to risk their lives in defense of our national security and the safety of American soldiers and diplomats. 


This is a continuation of the commitment I made since 9/11, which led to my becoming a DOD civilian Senior Executive spending years in a war zone, supporting our nation’s fight against terrorism. 


When political attacks are spread anonymously—when people are so ashamed by them that no one will put their name to it—that’s the clearest sign it’s a lie. And to borrow a phrase, if Jim Moylan has something to say, he can say it to my face.

CIFA COFA REBUTTAL

Ginger Cruz Clapback on Moylan's Campaign Lies

Setting the Record Straight on

8(a) Small Business Contracting

New ParagraphGinger Cruz Supports Guam’s Small Business and Federal Contracting Programs. But she understands what her opponent does not not—the 8a program has taken significant losses in the federal courts and new attacks by her opponent’s party in Congress signal more challenges on the way. 


Recently, Ginger Cruz’s opponent falsely claimed that she opposes Section 8(a) contracting assistance for Guam’s business community. This is completely untrue. Cruz fully supports federal contracting programs, including Section 8(a) and 7(j), which are critical tools for minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses on Guam. Her opponent's accusations misrepresent her stance and fail to acknowledge her dedication to rebuilding Guam’s middle class through expanded economic opportunities.


The Facts:


Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act provides vital federal contracting preferences for small, disadvantaged businesses. This program helps local businesses in Guam access federal contracts, which last year totaled $24.4 billion nationwide. Cruz is committed to protecting and expanding these opportunities for Guam businesses. She is fully aware of the importance of these programs in supporting local, minority-owned companies, and the critical role they play in boosting Guam’s economy.


Cruz also recognizes that the landscape has shifted following a 2023 court ruling that altered how social disadvantage is determined for the 8(a) program. She remains proactive, ensuring that Guam businesses can navigate these changes effectively. Furthermore, Cruz advocates for the expanded use of the HUBZone certification, which is faster and easier for Guam companies to obtain, providing similar access to federal contracts.


Cruz’s Approach to Supporting Local Businesses:


•⁠ ⁠Strengthening support for Guam’s small businesses by expanding use of HUBZone certifications.

•⁠ ⁠Advocating for fair treatment of CHamoru-owned businesses, ensuring they receive the same contracting benefits as Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and Native American businesses.

•⁠ ⁠Promoting federal programs that provide technical assistance and coaching to help local businesses win contracts.

•⁠ ⁠Ensuring that Guam’s small business community benefits from the latest federal policies, including the Biden-Harris administration’s “Empower to Grow” initiative.


A successful small business owner herself, Ginger Cruz’s commitment to Guam’s small businesses is clear. Cruz will continue the fight for fair access to federal contracting opportunities that make sense ensuring Guam businesses get ahead and stay there.

Ginger Cruz Supports Guam’s Small Business and Federal Contracting Programs. But she understands what her opponent does not not—the 8a program has taken significant losses in the federal courts and new attacks by her opponent’s party in Congress signal more challenges on the way. 


Recently, Ginger Cruz’s opponent falsely claimed that she opposes Section 8(a) contracting assistance for Guam’s business community. This is completely untrue. Cruz fully supports federal contracting programs, including Section 8(a) and 7(j), which are critical tools for minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses on Guam. Her opponent's accusations misrepresent her stance and fail to acknowledge her dedication to rebuilding Guam’s middle class through expanded economic opportunities.


The Facts:


Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act provides vital federal contracting preferences for small, disadvantaged businesses. This program helps local businesses in Guam access federal contracts, which last year totaled $24.4 billion nationwide. Cruz is committed to protecting and expanding these opportunities for Guam businesses. She is fully aware of the importance of these programs in supporting local, minority-owned companies, and the critical role they play in boosting Guam’s economy.

Cruz also recognizes that the landscape has shifted following a 2023 court ruling that altered how social disadvantage is determined for the 8(a) program. She remains proactive, ensuring that Guam businesses can navigate these changes effectively. Furthermore, Cruz advocates for the expanded use of the HUBZone certification, which is faster and easier for Guam companies to obtain, providing similar access to federal contracts.


Cruz’s Approach to Supporting Local Businesses:


  • ⁠Strengthening support for Guam’s small businesses by expanding use of HUBZone certifications.
  • Advocating for fair treatment of CHamoru-owned businesses, ensuring they receive the same contracting benefits as Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and Native American businesses.
  • Promoting federal programs that provide technical assistance and coaching to help local businesses win contracts.
  • Ensuring that Guam’s small business community benefits from the latest federal policies, including the Biden-Harris administration’s “Empower to Grow” initiative.


A successful small business owner herself, Ginger Cruz’s commitment to Guam’s small businesses is clear. Cruz will continue the fight for fair access to federal contracting opportunities that make sense ensuring Guam businesses get ahead and stay there.

WANT THE TRUTH?

SIGIR FACTS

SIGR FACTS

The Truth About 8A

WANT THE

TRUTH?

SIGIR

FACTS

SIGR FACTS

The Truth About 8A

Wael Elzein: Ginger’s Husband

Born in Lebanon Wael came to the U.S. for college, graduating from Ohio University with both a bachelor’s and master’s Degree.


In 1993, Wael began with a distinguished 11-year service in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. A combat veteran who served during the Bosnia War, Elzein was recognized for his bravery and dedication including multiple U.S. Army Commendation Medals, NATO medals and awards. His military service concluded with an honorable discharge, marking him as a Veteran of Foreign Wars. He is currently a member of the Guam VFW.

Following his military career, Elzein continued to serve his country as a federal employee and contractor in Iraq. From the early 2000s until 2012, he held federal security clearances in positions of trust with the Departments of State and Defense. His contributions in law enforcement and overseas operations were critical in supporting national security efforts.


https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/world/investigation-into-missing-iraqi-cash-ended-in-lebanon-bunker.html

Transitioning to the private sector, Elzein founded a company that ensures compliance for U.S. firms providing life support to the U.S. Embassy and Defense Department programs in the Middle East. His company's work in challenging environments was recognized with the prestigious ISOA Vanguard Award, which honors significant contributions to stability, peace, and development.


Throughout his career, Elzein has maintained high ethical standards. Both he and his wife, Ginger, have filed their financial statements with the Federal Election Commission and Guam Election Commission and continue as they have both done throughout their careers, to uphold the highest levels of personal and professional integrity.


Wael Elzein's professional journey highlights a consistent dedication to service, from his military career to his ongoing support of U.S. national security efforts in the private sector.

Cruz: Candidate ‘slogans’ bring campaigning into the voting both

Congressional candidate Ginger Cruz respects the local tradition of printing family names and nicknames on the ballot to help voters identify candidates, but she recently questioned the practice of allowing candidates to also place campaign slogans on the ballot.


Her political opponents have falsely accused Cruz of referring to family names on the ballot as “stupid logos,” during one of her fundraising events, when Cruz was actually referring to the campaign slogans.


She spoke about the slogans in a clip recorded during a June fundraiser at Gudtym, in Tamuning. Cruz during the event told supporters that her name on the Primary Election ballot would be printed simply as “Cruz, Ginger,” her legal name, with no slogan.


Cruz considered adding her family name, Crunden, to the ballot, but decided against it after seeing a sample of the text provided by the Guam Election Commission. The name Crunden would have been printed larger on the ballot than her actual name, overpowering it visually.

Cruz first raised concerns about ballot campaign slogans during a candidate’s meeting at the Election Commission, where candidates drew lots for their ballot placement.


Election Commission forms state that “names or nicknames” can be added to the ballot, and Cruz asked election officials if it is legal for candidates to instead add campaign slogans. Election officials responded that the rules had been expanded to allow for campaign slogans.


Cruz believes having campaign slogans on the ballot is inconsistent with the general prohibition on campaigning at the polling place.


“They prevent campaign signs and people from wearing campaign t-shirts, and yet they allow campaign slogans to be printed on the ballot?” Cruz said.


Congressional candidate Ginger Cruz respects the local tradition of printing family names and nicknames on the ballot to help voters identify candidates, but she recently questioned the practice of allowing candidates to also place campaign slogans on the ballot.


Her political opponents have falsely accused Cruz of referring to family names on the ballot as “stupid logos,” during one of her fundraising events, when Cruz was actually referring to the campaign slogans.


She spoke about the slogans in a clip recorded during a June fundraiser at Gudtym, in Tamuning. Cruz during the event told supporters that her name on the Primary Election ballot would be printed simply as “Cruz, Ginger,” her legal name, with no slogan.


Cruz considered adding her family name, Crunden, to the ballot, but decided against it after seeing a sample of the text provided by the Guam Election Commission. The name Crunden would have been printed larger on the ballot than her actual name, overpowering it visually.


Cruz first raised concerns about ballot campaign slogans during a candidate’s meeting at the Election Commission, where candidates drew lots for their ballot placement.


Election Commission forms state that “names or nicknames” can be added to the ballot, and Cruz asked election officials if it is legal for candidates to instead add campaign slogans. Election officials responded that the rules had been expanded to allow for campaign slogans.


Cruz believes having campaign slogans on the ballot is inconsistent with the general prohibition on campaigning at the polling place.


“They prevent campaign signs and people from wearing campaign t-shirts, and yet they allow campaign slogans to be printed on the ballot?” Cruz said.



Ginger Championed Accountability, Stood Tall Against Lies & Won

Ginger Cruz has a strong background in accountability and responsible management, which was tested more than a decade ago.

 

Cruz won two legal battles related to personnel decisions while she was Deputy Inspector General for the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

 

The watchdog office, led by Special Inspector General Stuart Bowen, was responsible for monitoring how more than $50 billion in federal money was being spent to rebuild Iraq and to report its findings to the military, the Secretary of State and Congress.

 

The office, or “SIGIR,” in 2007 dismissed 10 of its senior employees, including communications specialists, auditors, and investigators, after determining those positions — added by past management — no longer were needed and should not be funded as the temporary office was downsizing to save taxpayer money.


The firings prompted an anonymous complaint by the former employees, alleging misspending and abuse by the agency’s leadership as well as false claims that Cruz, a Catholic, was a Wiccan because she had candles in her office.

 

The allegations, some of which were leaked by the disgruntled employes to national media and then repeated by several Guam outlets, resulted in a wide-ranging federal investigation. 


In July 2008, Bowen and Cruz were officially cleared after a federal grand jury in Virginia, which heard the evidence, rejected the case.

“To be completely cleared of anything criminal and anything administratively is a very welcome sense of closure for me personally and the organization,” Cruz told the Associated Press at the time. https://www.postguam.com/news/local/feds-clear-ginger-cruz/article_3d017206-8967-59e8-879b-8efb0e535175.html


The Justice Department also took the rare step of reimbursing Cruz for her legal fees in connection with the probe.


Several years later, the watchdog office also won a federal civil lawsuit, filed by former Assistant Inspector General for Public Affairs Denise Burgess, a black woman who alleged racial and gender discrimination after her job at the office was eliminated.

 

Burgess was fired in 2007, following an office reorganization. Cruz was her supervisor at the time.

 

Burgess brought multiple complaints in 2009 to the Department of Defense, which oversaw SIGIR, all of which were denied. A final appeal to a federal jury in 2012 rejected all of Burgess’ allegations, stating Burgess was not fired because of her race or color. Among those testifying in the successful court proceedings was the SIGIR Budget Director, also a black woman, who had been promoted by Cruz to that position.

 

“During my years in D.C., I was told that taking a stand to do the right thing would result in personal attacks. Rather than cave in to that pressure, I have always looked to my internal ethical compass and remained steadfast in my faith in justice and the legal system. The fact that both of these false claims were resolved clearly in my favor is a testament to my commitment to speaking truth to power and doing what is just,” said Cruz.

Ginger Cruz has a strong background in accountability and responsible management, which was tested more than a decade ago.

 

Cruz won two legal battles related to personnel decisions while she was Deputy Inspector General for the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

 

The watchdog office, led by Special Inspector General Stuart Bowen, was responsible for monitoring how more than $50 billion in federal money was being spent to rebuild Iraq and to report its findings to the military, the Secretary of State and Congress.

 

The office, or “SIGIR,” in 2007 dismissed 10 of its senior employees, including communications specialists, auditors, and investigators, after determining those positions — added by past management — no longer were needed and should not be funded as the temporary office was downsizing to save taxpayer money.


The firings prompted an anonymous complaint by the former employees, alleging misspending and abuse by the agency’s leadership as well as false claims that Cruz, a Catholic, was a Wiccan because she had candles in her office.

 

The allegations, some of which were leaked by the disgruntled employes to national media and then repeated by several Guam outlets, resulted in a wide-ranging federal investigation. 


In July 2008, Bowen and Cruz were officially cleared after a federal grand jury in Virginia, which heard the evidence, rejected the case.


“To be completely cleared of anything criminal and anything administratively is a very welcome sense of closure for me personally and the organization,” Cruz told the Associated Press at the time. https://www.postguam.com/news/local/feds-clear-ginger-cruz/article_3d017206-8967-59e8-879b-8efb0e535175.html


The Justice Department also took the rare step of reimbursing Cruz for her legal fees in connection with the probe.


Several years later, the watchdog office also won a federal civil lawsuit, filed by former Assistant Inspector General for Public Affairs Denise Burgess, a black woman who alleged racial and gender discrimination after her job at the office was eliminated.

 

Burgess was fired in 2007, following an office reorganization. Cruz was her supervisor at the time.

 

Burgess brought multiple complaints in 2009 to the Department of Defense, which oversaw SIGIR, all of which were denied. A final appeal to a federal jury in 2012 rejected all of Burgess’ allegations, stating Burgess was not fired because of her race or color. Among those testifying in the successful court proceedings was the SIGIR Budget Director, also a black woman, who had been promoted by Cruz to that position.

 

“During my years in D.C., I was told that taking a stand to do the right thing would result in personal attacks. Rather than cave in to that pressure, I have always looked to my internal ethical compass and remained steadfast in my faith in justice and the legal system. The fact that both of these false claims were resolved clearly in my favor is a testament to my commitment to speaking truth to power and doing what is just,” said Cruz.

U.S. Congress Recognizes Ginger’s “Professionalism, Productivity & Perseverance”

The $50 billion U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq was open to billions of dollars in corruption by contractors and contracting officials, and Ginger Cruz played in important role in exposing it and holding violators accountable.

 

Cruz was Deputy Inspector General for the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, created by Congress to monitor federal spending in Iraq and reports its findings to the military, the Secretary of State and Congress.

 

The FBI sent agents from its fraud division to Iraq to work alongside the watchdog office, or “SIGIR,” which had dozens of open corruption cases at the time.

 

The first criminal charges, based on the SIGIR and FB Investigations, were filed in November 2005 against U.S. contracting official Robert Stein, Jr., and contractor Philip Bloom, who were accused of fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy.

 

“There’s more to come,” in the way of criminal charges, Cruz told the Washington Post at the time.

 

Stein pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Bloom also pleaded guilty and aided the investigation, in exchange for a 46-month prison sentence.

 

“For all the bravery and dedication, it was a corrupting environment,” Cruz told the New York Times in 2006 after an Army Reserve officer pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in connection with Iraq construction contracts. “For those few who were corrupt, we would hope that the punishment serves as a strong message to the Iraqis.”

 

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut, commended the SIGIR and its employees, including Cruz, in a November 2009 statement to the Congressional Record, recognizing the watchdog’s sixth anniversary.


https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2009-11-09/pdf/CREC-2009-11-09-pt1-PgS11286.pdf (The SIGIR reference begins at the bottom right of the first page).

 

“SIGIR’s reviews have been extremely useful to both the administration and Congress in assessing the many challenges of the reconstruction,” Lieberman stated, adding he salutes Cruz and Inspector General Stuart Bowen.

 

“Their work has been extremely influential on the evolution of construction efforts in Iraq, and undoubtedly will help inform future U.S. relief and construction efforts.”

 

Cruz was also recognized for her outstanding work with an American Flag, flown over the U.S. Capitol in recognition of her service as the Deputy IG. The certificate reads in part, “Ms. Cruz was intimately involved in the drafting of more than 30 Quarterly Reports to the U.S. Congress, oversaw the production of audits, project assessments and lessons learned reports, and served for more than two years on the ground in Iraq. Her professionalism, productivity, and perseverance exemplify the highest traditions of government service.”

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