THIS YEAR’S ELECTION TAUGHT SOME VITAL LESSONS
By Patrick Derohanian
Glendale News Press
April 13 2009
CA
As an Armenian American who has participated in every local, statewide
and national election since I was 18, I truly believe we learned
more from this loss than any other ("Yousefian out, Friedman in,"
Wednesday). As a community, we have begun an important cleansing
process that will eventually help us in coming to terms with our
mistakes.
With this election, many Armenians like myself realized that
the Armenian National Committee has proven to be a lap dog for
special interest groups, not Armenian Americans, and in doing so,
has created an opportunity for us all to realize our mistakes and
correct them. Many of us believe it is crucial to have Armenian
American representation, but it is just as important to have competent
representatives. Hopefully, these results will create some much-needed
change in committee leadership as well as a change in the thought
processes of many voters.
Racism is a huge issue in our city. I have seen it and I have lived
it, both in our schools and in the public realm in general. But it
is also apparent that thoughtful non-Armenian Americans will vote for
Armenian candidates — as long as they reach out to the whole community
and execute their decisions in a professional manner. That is what
we saw last week with the election of Greg Krikorian, Ara Najarian,
Armine Hacopian and Ardy Kassakhian, who won with large numbers of
votes that included both Armenian and non-Armenian support. Krikorian
was a shining example.
Winning with 11,700 votes, a truly collective number of Armenian and
non-Armenian votes, Krikorian’s victory was a clear indicator of the
"common sense" movement I have been discussing. Kassakhian also proved
to be a shining star. Despite no one running against him, he garnered
12,406 votes, a clear collective indication of his outstanding job
performance. Well done.
Despite recent victories, there continue to be Armenian American
candidates who believe they have a lot to offer the city, when, in
reality, all they have to offer is either fear-mongering or political
tactics — candidates such as Naira Khachatrian, Hasmig Aslanian,
Vartan Gharpetian, etc. I think it’s about time that these individuals
come to terms with the obvious fact that they are splitting votes
and just making fools out of themselves.
Some of these individuals have lost time and time again, and others
thought they had a good chance with their petty schemes to lure votes
via council member paycheck donations. For these candidates, I have
two words: bon voyage. As voters, we disregarded these foolish antics,
and we are ready to continue fighting the next round.
Most importantly, however, I believe that the agents of incompetence
will not be as safe as they thought they were, something Councilman
Dave Weaver should be wary about.
Armenians like myself and others are demanding more substance
and accountability from their representatives. We made a statement
yesterday when we did not reelect Councilman Bob Yousefian. We will no
longer support anyone and everyone who has an -ian or -yan at the end
of their last name, and that is a fact we committed to and expressed
vividly in last week’s elections.
And whether the Armenian National Committee decides to shove
incompetence down our throats or not, we will get accustomed to our
newly found independence, and this move will prove to be a positive
step forward for our community and our city as a whole.