Najarian steamrolls his way to victory
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader

Plenty of support, strong credentials help attorney best three
incumbents in council race

Glendale News-Press
April 7, 2005

GLENDALE — This time, Ara Najarian had some breathing room.

An attorney and trustee for Glendale Community College, Najarian
dominated the Glendale City Council elections on Tuesday, receiving
9,054 votes — 1,244 more than anyone else. He was the only candidate
in a field of 19 to get more than 10% of the vote, and he beat three
incumbents.

Najarian’s success is a far cry from his run for the college district
board in 2003, when outstanding provisional and absentee votes
propelled him from third place to second.

Najarian said he learned the secret for success during that 2003 race.

“The importance of reaching out to the different communities was
really something that I became acutely aware of,” he said. “You’ve
got to reach out across the entire swath of Glendale — rich, poor,
apartment owners, homeowners, young, old, Armenian, non-Armenian,
Korean, Latino — to be a successful candidate.”

Najarian’s ability to reach out to the community may have helped
him gain widespread support, but his formula for success was more
expansive.

His experience as a college trustee and a former city transportation
and parking commissioner gave him strong credentials on two major
issues — transportation and education.

“He’s not an unknown commodity,” Councilman Rafi Manoukian said.

Najarian stayed above the fray in much of the mud-slinging and
accusations of dirty politics, preferring to run a clean and positive
campaign. Challenger John Drayman described Najarian’s campaign as
smart, honest and decent.

He supports the Americana at Brand, but unlike the three incumbents,
he was not a central player in the Americana debate.

By staying out of that debate in 2004, he avoided alienating large
segments of the community.

“He was not the one who cast the vote one way or another,” said Mayor
Bob Yousefian, who finished second behind Najarian. “The ones who
cast the votes were the ones who were attacked.”

Glendale’s Armenian-American community gave Najarian strong support,
including an endorsement from the Armenian National Committee.

Over the last six years, since Manoukian first galvanized the city’s
Armenian-American electorate, that segment of voters has become a
political force.

For the first time, Armenian Americans have a majority on the council.

“To Armenians, it’s a big deal,” Yousefian said. “This is the first
time it’s happened. [Armenian Americans] are getting the perception
that it’s OK to be involved, it’s OK to go out and vote, and it’s OK
to run for office.

“It also sends a different message — these are three Armenian
candidates who had a following that was more than just Armenians. The
bottom line comes to, who is a good candidate? As far as I’m concerned
and Ara’s concerned and Rafi’s concerned, the number one issue to us
is what is in the best interest of the city.”

JOSH KLEINBAUM covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235
or by e-mail at josh.kleinbaum@latimes.com.