89.3 KPCC, CA
Jan 6 2010

Krekorian sworn in as newest LA councilmember
Jan. 5, 2010 | KPCC Wire Services | KPCC

Former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian took the oath of office today,
becoming the newest member of the Los Angeles City Council.

Krekorian fills the Second District seat vacated by Wendy Greuel in
July, when she became city controller. He will finish out the
year-and-a-half remaining in her term. He will be representing the
northeast San Fernando Valley.

Krekorian’s first City Council meeting will be Wednesday.

"We face a great budget crisis and many other challenges and I’m very
mindful of that, but I’m really excited about getting to work and
starting to address some of those challenges,” Krekorian said.

City Clerk June Lagmay administered the oath to Krekorian while he was
surrounded by his wife, his 4-year-old son, his year-old daughter,
friends and staffers at the media briefing room behind City Council
chambers.

The ceremony was held hours after the City Council formally certified
the results of Dec. 8 runoff election in which Krekorian defeated
former Paramount Pictures executive Christine Essel.

Krekorian received 10,810 votes 57 percent of the total, even though
Essel spent about twice as much on the campaign as he did.

"The campaign is over. Now is the time to govern and in a time of
crisis like the city is now facing, it’s really going to take our
entire focused collective efforts working together to solve the
problems that are ahead of us,” Krekorian said.

"I don’t expect to be a go-along-to-get-along kind of council
member,” he added. "I expect there will be times when I will make
some waves among colleagues and take different approaches than they
do, but I think it’s incumbent upon all of us as elected officials to
pull together and make sure

our oars are all in the water at the same time, because we face
challenges that I think are pretty much unprecedented, certainly in my
lifetime and maybe in the last century.”

Krekorian said he believes the biggest issue facing his district is "a
crisis of confidence in the city government.”

"I think there’s widespread feeling within the Second District that
the Valley has been neglected for far too long, that decisions are
made downtown that don’t take into account the unique nature of the
neighborhoods of the valley and they want to know that their voice is
heard.”

Krekorian also vowed to focus on public safety; limit development in
such a way that balances economic gains with the quality of life in
local neighborhoods; stimulate the economy; and develop jobs.

"I know that building on his past record, (Krekorian) is going to do
an extraordinary job here,” City Council President Eric Garcetti
said. "We look forward to welcoming him tomorrow, which happens to be
Armenian Christmas, which is fitting for the first Armenian-American
to serve in this Council chambers.”

Krekorian was elected to the Assembly in 2006, and eventually became
its assistant majority floor leader.

Before that, Krekorian was a lawyer for 20 years and served on the
Burbank Unified School District Board of Education.

Krekorian received his law degree from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s
degree in political science from USC.

The Second District stretches from Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood
Hills to Big Tujunga Road in the Verdugo Hills. It includes parts 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.

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