Los Angeles Daily News, CA
June 9 2006
Outside mailer generates woes for Quintero
BY ALEX DOBUZINSKIS, Staff Writer
GLENDALE – Although his failed run for state Assembly is behind him,
City Councilman Frank Quintero still faces questions about the
campaign because of a last-minute mailer some denounced as racist.
The mailer was distributed by the California Latino Leadership Fund,
and sought to link Paul Krekorian, an Armenian-American who was
Quintero’s opponent in the Democratic primary, to terrorism.
Quintero has worked for years to cultivate ties with Glendale’s huge
Armenian community and maintains he had nothing to do with the
campaign hit piece.
“I condemn the independent mailer and its message,” Quintero said.
“Now I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the people of
Glendale and enjoying my time on the council.”
But City Councilman Ara Najarian, another Armenian-American, wants
the council to hold a hearing into the mailer and a related phone
message campaign.
“It went way past Paul Krekorian,” Najarian said. “It went to all the
Armenians, so essentially I feel that all Armenians were under attack
when that mailer was sent out.”
The mailer sent by the Oakland-based Leadership Fund targeted
Krekorian and the Armenian National Committee of America, an advocacy
group that endorsed him.
The mailer accused the ANC of giving an award to “suspected
terrorist” Mourad Topalian in 2000, and faulted Krekorian for
accepting the ANC’s endorsement in the Assembly race.
Topalian, a former Armenian National Committee leader, was sentenced
in 2001 to 37 months in prison for storing stolen explosives and
owning two machine guns. The ANC says it cut its ties with Topalian
after his conviction.
In fact, Quintero himself had been endorsed by the ANC when he ran
for City Council in 2001.
“I’m fine with the Armenian community,” Quintero said. “I don’t have
any issues with the Armenian community.
“The California (Latino) Leadership Fund needs to issue a letter and
a statement telling people that I have not in any way been involved
in that mailer.”
Krekorian, 46, a Burbank school board member, said he was hurt by the
mailer, which implicated his wife because she is an ANC member.
“It’s beyond anything that really should be acceptable,” he said, “by
anyone in the political arena.”
Officials with the Latino Leadership Fund did not return phone calls.
Although the group was prohibited by law from contacting Quintero’s
campaign before the primary, City Councilmen Rafi Manoukian and Bob
Yousefian – both Armenian-Americans – said they believe Quintero was
involved in sending out the mailer.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen but there is a lot of anger in
the community,” said Manoukian, who supported Krekorian for the 43rd
Assembly District seat.
Krekorian defeated Quintero 57-43 percent in Tuesday’s primary and
will face Republican Michael Agbaba and Libertarian Steve Myers in
November.
The Latino Leadership Fund received money from PG&E Corp., Sempra
Energy and others, although most of its money came from the San
Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The Indian band also gave $3,200 to
Quintero’s campaign.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
