Interview: Babauta wants to serve people of Guam

It may be too early for him to announce his candidacy, but former U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs Anthony Marion Babauta said he wants to move back to his home island of Guam and serve its people.
In an interview yesterday, Babauta, the highest ranking Chamorro to serve the U.S. government, said he knows that at some point, he wants to run for office on Guam but probably not in 2014. “I owe my island for all the support its people have given me throughout my career and especially the support they gave me to become the assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior,” he said.
“With all their support and all their prayers, I feel a great deal of responsibility to return home and offer myself and my experience to the public,” he added.
Babauta resigned as Interior assistant secretary effective Feb. 1, 2013. He was placed on administrative leave in November when an investigation against him was launched. The probe focused on whether Babauta took extended travel time on Guam, and whether he inappropriately steered at least one Interior grant to the University of Guam.
He is now with Crane & Crane Consulting in Washington, D.C., which handles business infrastructure and works with SNR Denton, the seventh-largest law firm in the United States
A graduate of Father Duenas Memorial School and Gonzaga University, Babauta worked for then-Sen. Elizabeth Arriola, whom he considered his political mentor.
He also worked for then-Sen. Madeleine Z. Bordallo before becoming a legislative assistant to Guam Delegate Robert Underwood, who he also consider a mentor.