About – Senator Chris “Malafunkshun” Barnett

Senator Chris Barnett is a Democrat senator in the 38th Guam Legislature, currently serving his second term.
Barnett serves in the Minority, and is a member on the Land Committee, the Children’s Wellness and Disabilities Committee and also a member of Senator Telo Taitague’s Committees, including serving as her Vice Chair of the Committee on Elections, Retirement and Technology.

In the 37th Guam Legislature, he was the Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, Education and The Arts. He also chaired the Committee on Rules in his freshman term. Barnett is commonly known by his nickname “Malafunkshun.”
He started his career with the local media scene in 1997 with “The Malafunkshun Show,” using cultural humor, satire and politics to grow his morning radio audience over 25 years on the air.

The “Malafunkshun” Show cemented Barnett as a grass-roots voice that the people of Guam can relate to. He is not afraid to call out corruption and questionable acts by the Government, often in the form of skits, songs and parodies ripped straight from the local news headlines. Barnett also transitioned smoothly from talking about headlines to writing them, as he kept elected leaders on their toes during his tenure as a Senior Investigative Correspondent for KUAM News.
Barnett retired in 2022 to seek public office in the 37th Guam Legislature. He has been the second-highest vote getter in the last two elections.

Senator Barnett led the charge for health and safety standards for our schools, fighting to force the whole of government approach our schools need for the improvements our students deserve.

As a public school product and parent, Barnett realizes the importance of ensuring this standard is met and continued. Meeting this standard allows students, staff and teachers to focus on what’s really important – learning. Under his leadership, GDOE also received millions of dollars for maintenance – for the first time in history. Barnett also championed legislation, now law, which requires the Guam Police Department to use body-worn cameras, increasing transparency and accountability for both the police and the public. Senator Barnett has authored numerous Public Laws, including measures that put life-saving AED’s at our schools, direct funding to school PTO’s and provide retention bonusses to address the shortage of police officers on Guam.

Barnett is a voice for the People not politics, consistently standing up for what’s Good For Guam.