FORMER Gov. Carl Gutierrez and Washington Delegate Madeleine Bordallo may have shaken hands and buried the hatchet, but a new candidate for the Washington job has emerged. Just last week, Gutierrez, who had indicated he might run, announced he would support Bordallo, seemingly assuring her of another term, or at least an easier run for it against the only declared Republican candidate, Sen. Frank Blas Jr.

But not so fast. There is at least one other Democratic petition circulating, for Jonathan Diaz, and today at noon Karlo Dizon, also a Democrat, will toss his hat into the ring. After the chorus of owls died down (who?) Dizon, 27, has emerged as someone with an interesting story. Born in the Philippines, Dizon grew up on Guam and attended school here. The Simon Sanchez High School graduate went off to the states to pursue his higher education at Yale University and the London School of Economics, a couple of pretty prestigious institutions.

His work background includes interning in the economics section of the American Embassy in Manila, and three years in China working first for a private law firm in Shanghai, and then in Beijing with the joint U.S.-China clean energy collaboration. He has also interned with the British Parliament and at the White House, and supervised the Barack Obama campaign headquarters in Spencer, Iowa during the 2008 election. That’s all pretty impressive stuff, more noteworthy than the background of the average candidate who has tried to unseat Bordallo.

What makes Dizon’s candidacy so interesting is that he speaks fluent Tagalog and comes from a well-rooted Filipino family in Dededo, where he grew up. The bedrock of Madeleine Bordallo’s vote-getting strength is her popularity in the Filipino community, particularly among women.

Of course Dizon cannot win the primary only by being Filipino. But he also brings to the table some pretty impressive academic credentials and experience, along with what appears to be some organizational strength. He’s already got some signs out, has a campaign headquarters office that is not in Dededo, and has publicly stated his area of concentration will be on winning the Chinese visa waiver, or at least parole authority, for Guam. He speaks Mandarin, has Washington experience, and that’s a good hot-button issue for Guam whether or not our Washington delegate can really have any significant influence on the decision.

Sen. Frank Blas also brings some strength to the table, including a long involvement with the Compact-Impact funding issue and a couple of successful runs for the Legislature. If he runs unopposed for the Republican nomination, and Dizon can mount a creditable campaign on the Democratic side, this race could be most interesting.

As of now, the smart money is probably on Bordallo to win another term. However, there’s an anti-incumbent attitude sweeping through the country – just ask Richard Lugar – that may work in favor of a challenger to the Bordallo seat.