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Dec 31 2009

Krekorian first Armenian-American to win seat on LA City Council

KPCC Wire Services | KPCC

The election of the first Armenian-American to win a seat on the Los
Angeles City Council is expected to be certified during the first
council meeting of the new year.

Former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, D-Burbank, will fill the 2nd
District seat representing the San Fernando Valley. The seat was
vacated by Wendy Greuel, who was elected City Controller.
Krekorian received 10,810 votes, or 57 percent of the total during the
Dec. 8 runoff election, defeating Paramount Pictures executive
Christine Essel.

The City Council is expected to certify the election results Tuesday.
It is unclear whether Krekorian, 49, will be sworn in immediately or a
few days later.

City Council President Eric Garcetti said before the holidays that,
"I’d love to assist in seating (Krekorian) as soon as possible,
because it would be great to have all 15 members here, and for Council
District 2 residents to have somebody in place.”

Garcetti said Krekorian made history by becoming the first
Armenian-American elected to the City Council.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who served with Krekorian in the state
Assembly and endorsed him in the election, said, "He understands
public policy, and he has demonstrated an ability to understand the
way to make bureaucracies move, the way to work with constituencies.”

Councilman Dennis Zine, who, along with Gruel, endorsed Essel, said
Krekorian "ran a better campaign ‘ he’s the winner and we’ll work with
him.”

After his victory, Krekorian declared, "The task now ahead of us is to
build a city government that will work for the people and is marked by
integrity, honesty and accountability.”

The Second District stretches from Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood
Hills to Big Tujunga Road in the Verdugo Hills. It includes the
communities of Lake View Terrace, La Tuna Canyon, North Hollywood,
Shadow Hills, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Sunland, Sun Valley, Tujunga,
Valley Village, Valley Glen and Van Nuys.

Krekorian was elected to the state Assembly in 2006, and became its
assistant majority floor leader. Prior to that, he was a lawyer for 20
years and served a term as head of the Burbank Board of Education. He
received his law degree from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in political
science from USC.

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