Its inhabitants are citizens of the US, although they are not permitted to vote in US presidential elections. Guam sends a non-voting Delegate to the US House of Representatives, elected every two years. It is empowered to enact legislation on local matters, including taxation and fiscal appropriations.
Executive power is vested in a civilian governor who is elected by popular vote every four years.
He was re-elected to the position in a tight race at the 1998 elections. The principal parties are the Democrats and the Republicans, but their linkages with the mainland US parties are tenuous and members often vote across party lines. Economic Overview Guam is prosperous, with western consumption patterns. The economy underwent a period of rapid growth in the five years up until 1998, fueled largely by tourism with an accompanying growth in construction. But the Asian economic downturn saw tourist numbers, and corresponding on-island per capita expenditure by tourists, decline throughout 1998 and the first half of 1999.