ARMENIANS MAY GAIN SENATE POWER
By Vince Lovato
Burbank Leader,CA
Aug. 16, 2006
Plan for caucus is long overdue, according to candidate for 43rd
district seat.
GLENDALE – A bipartisan group of legislators formed the Assembly
Armenian American Legislative Caucus on Monday, which they hope will
support and create legislation that benefits the state’s 700,000
Armenian Americans.
Co-founders Dario Frommer, a Democrat who represents Burbank and
Glendale, and Greg Aghazarian, a Republican who represents Stockton,
hope the state Senate will soon recognize the bi-partisan group.
"Our intent is for it to be a working caucus and a group of folks
who reach out and educate others," said Frommer, Assembly majority
leader. "Here in California we have a large and vibrant Armenian
community, not just in my district, but in Fresno and other places,
and we want to bring those folks together."
The Assembly also passed a resolution on Monday designating Sept. 21,
2006, as Armenian Independence Day.
The group is modeled after the 11-year-old Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues, which is 159 members strong, he said. The caucus has
pushed for American recognition of the Armenian Genocide and free-trade
issues with the 15-year-old former Soviet state, Frommer said.
Armenians have a century-old history in the state and they play a
role in shaping public policy at every level of government, Frommer
said. advertisement
California is the first state to form an Armenian caucus, said Savey
Tufenkian, a 30-year Glendale resident and member of the Armenian
Assembly of America.
"I think it’s wonderful and it’s about time," Tufenkian said. "We
would like to be part of the whole community as Armenians. We want to
be recognized as a country and that our genocide should be recognized.
Though California has a trade office in Armenia, Tufenkian would
like to see an expansion of trade between the landlocked country and
the state.
"We need to do whatever is needed to improve the lives of Armenians,"
she said.
Such a caucus is long overdue, said Burbank Unified School Board member
Paul Krekorian, who won the Democrat primary for the 43rd District,
which Frommer will vacate this year because of term limits.
"I’ve been a little surprised that legislators who consider themselves
friends of the Armenian community did not create one like this years
ago," he said. "But what matters to most to Armenians is the same that
matters to all Americans: Excellent public schools, good jobs, health
care for seniors and the opportunity to send their kids to college."
California is home to the largest Armenian community in the United
States, Frommer said.
About 70,000 Armenian Americans – the largest concentration of
Armenians outside of Armenia – live in his district, Frommer said.