In the 1989 Glendale City Council election, the city's Armenian community suffered a humbling defeat in its first local political venture: Three Armenian candidates lost, no major voting bloc materialized and raising Armenian issues in campaign debates increased ethnic tensions.
This year, Armenian leaders are quietly celebrating the April 2 council election as a significant political step forward--particularly because widespread support from Armenian-American voters helped elect Eileen Givens, who sought to open channels to their community.
Larry Zarian, who served previously as Glendale's first Armenian mayor, was reelected to the City Council, and an unprecedented drive by the Armenian National Committee, a major Armenian political group, helped draw about 55% of Glendale's registered Armenian-American voters to the polls, according to estimates by some community leaders.
"It's an improvement," said Berdj Karapetian, executive director of the ANC's Western region and an unsuccessful City Council candidate in 1989. "There is at least one more council member with whom a significant number of community members are in contact."
Although it is unclear how Givens' election--and Zarian's reelection--will translate into Armenian influence on the council, Karapetian and other Armenian leaders said they consider the results and the local voter registration drive to be signs that their political clout may be increasing.
That is a sharp change from two years ago, when the ANC suffered a multifaceted defeat.
Three Armenian-American candidates, two endorsed by the ANC, placed near the bottom of a field of 13 contenders. No Armenian voting bloc materialized, and some voters resented what they perceived as an Armenian attempt to dominate the council, said Arick Gevorkian, a local businessman and chairman of the ANC's Glendale branch.
"The last time, when three Armenians were running, we worked hard, but somehow we had the feeling that they weren't welcome because of their last names," Gevorkian said. "We learned from the experience, and this time I think we were successful."
"The last election was an eye-opener," said Harmik Poghossian, owner of a real estate business in Glendale and an avid supporter of Givens in this year's election.
"It proved Glendale is not ready for another Armenian on the council," Poghossian said. "The closest we can come right now is electing someone who understands the community and is willing to work with Armenians and talk about our issues."
