PERHAPS, there is no easy way to make a categorical interpretation of former Gov. Carl Gutierrez’s performance in the primary for Public Auditor. Gutierrez garnered 4,842 votes against the incumbent Public Auditor and official candidate Doris Flores Brooks’ 14,472.

If such results presented a preview of what might be the outcome of the race in the general election, one might be inclined to wonder why the former governor should bother to go on. On the other hand, the number of counted votes that Gutierrez raked in couldn’t be ignored considering he was a write-in candidate. And if his supporters’ claim that the 2,369 spoiled ballots had his name on them, then that would have translated to about 7,000 votes that make him indeed a formidable challenger.

But expect new twists and turns of events in any election where the perennial newsmaker is involved. Now the race for Public Auditor, which barely started heating up, is likely to be followed by anticlimax with the former governor’s impending decision to retreat from the match.

According to a party insider, one particular democratic senator has been opposed to Gutierrez’s run for Public Auditor from the very beginning due to concerns about a leadership vacuum.

Since the Public Auditor is a nonpartisan position, Gutierrez is prohibited from getting involved with the party, thus his decision to step down as chairman, leaving no one to lead and glue together the splintered gang.

Without Gutierrez at the fore of the campaign trail, the Democrats are apparently not confident they could keep the majority control of the 32nd Legislature.

Gutierrez is the “Michael Jordan of the grassroots campaign,” according to the Democratic Party’s executive director, Carlo Branch. Hence the letter from the Democratic senators asking the former governor to reconsider his run for Public Auditor.

According to our source, Gutierrez “initially expressed grave reservations about withdrawing from the Public Auditor race to head the Democrats. He questioned why he would withdraw to go back to a party of individuals that just refuse to come together.”

It was an agonizing decision for Gutierrez to make, the source said. But when the party’s vice chair, Gloria Nelson, was hospitalized, the source said, “the Democrats came back to him with a real urgency.”

Then came the boogeyman – in the form of the National Republican Party’s platform that endorses a wage-setting autonomy for territories, including Guam.

“Incumbents and mayors are truly worried that Calvo money that is pumped into Republican candidates could cause Dems to lose not only the majority, but the delegate seat as well,” the source said.

The Democrats warn that the possibility of the Republicans taking legislative control would lead to minimum wage rolling back to levels below the federal mandate.

While Gutierrez is, without a doubt, the king of the grassroots, the Democrats seem already equipped with the minimum wage issue on their side to be able to stand alone – and probably with support from the Guam Federation of Teachers, which carries the huge labor bloc. Granted they have their own spines, the Democrats stand a chance to win over the target segment of the electorate and keep the elite Republicans at bay.

What good would Gutierrez’s withdrawal from the race do? It creates a semblance of indecisiveness that is not a character trait associated with the former governor.

If anything, there might be a chance that the Democrats would lose the 7,000 voters who wanted Gutierrez in the race.

At any rate, individual candidates are on their own. Election results are rewards for and indictments on their performance. Every election is a referendum on leadership.