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BERMAN AND SHERMAN BATTLE FOR ARMENIAN VOTE AT ANCA-WR DEBATE
ARMENPRESS
2 October, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: At a debate organized by the Armenian
National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA-WR), Congressman
Howard Berman and Congressman Brad Sherman battled each other for the
Armenian-American vote in the San Fernando Valley. With the occasional
fireworks, the congressmen held little back as they vied for the
crucial swing vote a little over a month before Election Day on
November 6. As Armenpress reports citing ANCA WR, over three-hundred
community members, many of them undecided voters, packed Avedissian
Hall at Ferrahian Armenian School in Encino, California, on Saturday
evening to hear the positions and proposals of the two well-respected
congressmen pitted against each other in the most closely watched
congressional race in the United States. The energetic debate,
which became heated a number of times as the congressmen rebutted
and refuted each other's arguments, evinced the highly emotional,
and oft-contentious, atmosphere of the race. The debate featured as
moderator Zanku Armenian, a columnist with the Glendale News-Press
and public relations executive and, as panelists, Harut Sassounian,
publisher of the California Courier newspaper and well-known
columnist, and Ara Khachatourian, editor of Asbarez English and the
immensely popular Asbarez Post and Asbarez.com. Numerous topics
were broached by the panelists including student fee increases
in the California university system, recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and Genocide-era insurance claims, appropriation of aid to
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and its use, the extradition of convicted
axe-murderer Ramil Safarov by the government of Hungary to Azerbaijan,
trade agreements between the United States and Armenia, and the
condition of Armenians in Javakhk in the Republic of Georgia and aid
to that region. Written questions were also taken from the audience.
Both candidates stressed the importance of leadership in realizing
any of the issues discussed, regularly citing their own history of
leadership over the years. While Sherman highlighted his lead in
recent polls and his local-level endorsements, Berman pointed to his
seniority and long list of endorsements from Members of Congress. Both
referenced their strong relationship with the ANCA and recognized
its leading role in bring Armenian-American issues to the fore in
Washington and locally. Although there was expected disagreement
about who was better for the job and about approach, the congressmen
generally agreed about the importance of the issues presented by the
panelists and the need to have them addressed by the U.S. Congress.
Nora Hovsepian, co-chair of the ANCA-WR, aptly noted in her opening
remarks the role the Armenian-American community is slated to
play as a "swing vote" in the close race between the two incumbent
congressmen. "It is hard to overestimate the importance of this race
to our community and, in turn, the importance of our community to
this race," said Hovsepian. "The participation of the congressmen, the
outpouring of interest from our community, and the presence of national
and local media were testament to the significance of both this race
and to ensuring that every voter is educated about the candidates
and gets out to vote on Election Day - that's why we organized this
debate and that's why we initiated the Hye Votes project."
ARMENPRESS
2 October, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: At a debate organized by the Armenian
National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA-WR), Congressman
Howard Berman and Congressman Brad Sherman battled each other for the
Armenian-American vote in the San Fernando Valley. With the occasional
fireworks, the congressmen held little back as they vied for the
crucial swing vote a little over a month before Election Day on
November 6. As Armenpress reports citing ANCA WR, over three-hundred
community members, many of them undecided voters, packed Avedissian
Hall at Ferrahian Armenian School in Encino, California, on Saturday
evening to hear the positions and proposals of the two well-respected
congressmen pitted against each other in the most closely watched
congressional race in the United States. The energetic debate,
which became heated a number of times as the congressmen rebutted
and refuted each other's arguments, evinced the highly emotional,
and oft-contentious, atmosphere of the race. The debate featured as
moderator Zanku Armenian, a columnist with the Glendale News-Press
and public relations executive and, as panelists, Harut Sassounian,
publisher of the California Courier newspaper and well-known
columnist, and Ara Khachatourian, editor of Asbarez English and the
immensely popular Asbarez Post and Asbarez.com. Numerous topics
were broached by the panelists including student fee increases
in the California university system, recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and Genocide-era insurance claims, appropriation of aid to
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and its use, the extradition of convicted
axe-murderer Ramil Safarov by the government of Hungary to Azerbaijan,
trade agreements between the United States and Armenia, and the
condition of Armenians in Javakhk in the Republic of Georgia and aid
to that region. Written questions were also taken from the audience.
Both candidates stressed the importance of leadership in realizing
any of the issues discussed, regularly citing their own history of
leadership over the years. While Sherman highlighted his lead in
recent polls and his local-level endorsements, Berman pointed to his
seniority and long list of endorsements from Members of Congress. Both
referenced their strong relationship with the ANCA and recognized
its leading role in bring Armenian-American issues to the fore in
Washington and locally. Although there was expected disagreement
about who was better for the job and about approach, the congressmen
generally agreed about the importance of the issues presented by the
panelists and the need to have them addressed by the U.S. Congress.
Nora Hovsepian, co-chair of the ANCA-WR, aptly noted in her opening
remarks the role the Armenian-American community is slated to
play as a "swing vote" in the close race between the two incumbent
congressmen. "It is hard to overestimate the importance of this race
to our community and, in turn, the importance of our community to
this race," said Hovsepian. "The participation of the congressmen, the
outpouring of interest from our community, and the presence of national
and local media were testament to the significance of both this race
and to ensuring that every voter is educated about the candidates
and gets out to vote on Election Day - that's why we organized this
debate and that's why we initiated the Hye Votes project."