Los Angeles Daily News, CA
April 12 2005
Ex-mayor upstages his successor
Yousefian wed at meeting
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer
GLENDALE — The Glendale City Council appointed Rafi Manoukian as
mayor on Monday, but it was outgoing Mayor Bob Yousefian who stole
the show by marrying his fiancee in front of a capacity crowd at City
Hall.
This will be Manoukian’s second term as mayor. The 44-year-old
accountant served a one-year term as mayor from 2002-03.
“It is largely symbolic, but it does also have some challenges in
terms of leading the city and setting the pace for the city,”
Manoukian said.
A year ago, Yousefian surprised the crowd when he proposed to his
girlfriend, Sue Eller, 44, during the ceremony marking his move into
the mayor’s chair.
“Everyone has been bugging us: When is the date? When is the date?
When is the date? Well, I’ve got news for you, today is the date,”
Yousefian said before stepping down to the public speaker’s podium to
slip a wedding ring on his fiancee’s finger.
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian of the Western Diocese of the Armenian
Church of North America presided over the ceremony, which was
concluded at City Hall but begun in a Glendale church before the
meeting.
After the wedding, Yousefian asked Councilman David Weaver if he had
managed to top his surprise announcement from last year.
“Never again will you see this happen in the council chambers. You
topped it,” Weaver said.
In taking over as mayor, Manoukian remarked that Yousefian had faced
challenges and tragedy during the year, including a battle over the
Americana at Brand project and the fatal Metrolink crash in February.
Before the meeting, Yousefian said it had been a busy year, and he
looked forward to handing over the mayor’s gavel.
“I have never seen anything like this. There were so many different
things that we had to accomplish this year, and there were a lot of
difficult issues we had to deal with,” Yousefian said.
Manoukian said he will revive his Coffee with Rafi program, giving
Glendale residents the chance to come talk to him the first Thursday
of the month at the Glendale farmers market.
“For me, the work starts with being accessible to the community.
That’s the most important part, I think,” he said.
Several newly elected and re-elected officials took the oath of
office at Monday’s ceremony, including new City Councilman Ara
Najarian, who received the most votes of any council member in last
week’s election. Najarian’s brother, Rafi Najarian, 39, an Air Force
base dental surgeon who has served in Iraq, led the audience in the
Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting.