Tweet
Glendale News-Press (California)
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
March 9, 2013 Saturday
OPINION: Accusations and flying mud
by Dan Evans, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
March 09--For about 15 hours this week, I've been sitting in Vrej
Agajanian's AABC TV studio, serially interviewing each of the
candidates for Glendale's City Council, School Board and City Clerk.
For those of you keeping score at home, there are 12 candidates for
council, seven for school board and two for clerk. There is a fourth
office on the ballot, City Treasurer, but Rafi Manoukian, a current
councilman, is running unopposed. Still, that's a total of 21 people
for the three contested races. It's been exhausting.
Of course, it's much harder to be a candidate, and I very much applaud
everyone that has subjected themselves to the trials of the campaign
trail: the door-knocking, the seemingly endless forums and debates,
and, perhaps, having to deal with me in an on-air interview.
You'll be able to see the candidates next week on Charter channel 384.
City council candidate interviews will air on Monday and Tuesday from
9 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a rebroadcast scheduled for Wednesday and
Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Glendale Unified School District board candidates will have their turn
on Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and will repeat the following day
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The two candidates for City Clerk will have
their interviews aired on Thursday from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and this
will repeat Monday, March 18 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Though everyone agreed to come, we had a few cancellations, all three
of which were candidates for City Council. One was Zareh Sinanyan, who
is in a heap of trouble over allegations that he made a series of
hateful, racist and explicative-laden comments on various social
networking sites and websites.
The allegations have prompted two members of the current council --
Laura Friedman and Ara Najarian, whom are running for reelection -- to
discuss removing Sinanyan from his current post on a city commission.
In addition, several high-profile endorsers -- Rep. Adam Schiff and
Los Angeles mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti -- have
pulled their support.
I wanted to ask him about this, but he has so far declined to talk
publicly. Or so I thought. Agajanian told me that Sinanyan was in his
studio Thursday evening, the same day he ditched out on his interview
with me.
Sinanyan appeared on a talk show in Armenian called "Barev," which
means "Hello," complaining the whole thing is a conspiracy to destroy
his campaign.
It appears there are two options. Either Sinanyan made a number of
extremely vulgar, hateful and racist comments online between two and
five years ago, or someone created an elaborate hoax, associated his
name with the comments, and then erased them to make it appear to be a
cover-up.
On Tuesday, the City Council will decide whether to yank Sinanyan's
membership on a city commission over the fracas. His campaign manager,
Elen Asatryan, told our reporter that he would not address these
issues until then. Perhaps she just meant the News-Press, as she made
that statement on Thursday, the very day Sinanyan had his softball
interview on "Barev."
The other two no-shows were Edith Fuentes, who told Agajanian that she
had double-booked herself, and Mike Mohill, who supposedly told my
on-air host that he thought I'd be too hard on him.
I called Mohill to ask him what he meant, but he didn't return the call.
Well, there is it. Welcome to the true beginning of Glendale's
political season, where the mud flies and the accusations abound.
DAN EVANS is the editor.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
March 9, 2013 Saturday
OPINION: Accusations and flying mud
by Dan Evans, Glendale News-Press, Calif.
March 09--For about 15 hours this week, I've been sitting in Vrej
Agajanian's AABC TV studio, serially interviewing each of the
candidates for Glendale's City Council, School Board and City Clerk.
For those of you keeping score at home, there are 12 candidates for
council, seven for school board and two for clerk. There is a fourth
office on the ballot, City Treasurer, but Rafi Manoukian, a current
councilman, is running unopposed. Still, that's a total of 21 people
for the three contested races. It's been exhausting.
Of course, it's much harder to be a candidate, and I very much applaud
everyone that has subjected themselves to the trials of the campaign
trail: the door-knocking, the seemingly endless forums and debates,
and, perhaps, having to deal with me in an on-air interview.
You'll be able to see the candidates next week on Charter channel 384.
City council candidate interviews will air on Monday and Tuesday from
9 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a rebroadcast scheduled for Wednesday and
Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Glendale Unified School District board candidates will have their turn
on Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and will repeat the following day
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The two candidates for City Clerk will have
their interviews aired on Thursday from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and this
will repeat Monday, March 18 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Though everyone agreed to come, we had a few cancellations, all three
of which were candidates for City Council. One was Zareh Sinanyan, who
is in a heap of trouble over allegations that he made a series of
hateful, racist and explicative-laden comments on various social
networking sites and websites.
The allegations have prompted two members of the current council --
Laura Friedman and Ara Najarian, whom are running for reelection -- to
discuss removing Sinanyan from his current post on a city commission.
In addition, several high-profile endorsers -- Rep. Adam Schiff and
Los Angeles mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti -- have
pulled their support.
I wanted to ask him about this, but he has so far declined to talk
publicly. Or so I thought. Agajanian told me that Sinanyan was in his
studio Thursday evening, the same day he ditched out on his interview
with me.
Sinanyan appeared on a talk show in Armenian called "Barev," which
means "Hello," complaining the whole thing is a conspiracy to destroy
his campaign.
It appears there are two options. Either Sinanyan made a number of
extremely vulgar, hateful and racist comments online between two and
five years ago, or someone created an elaborate hoax, associated his
name with the comments, and then erased them to make it appear to be a
cover-up.
On Tuesday, the City Council will decide whether to yank Sinanyan's
membership on a city commission over the fracas. His campaign manager,
Elen Asatryan, told our reporter that he would not address these
issues until then. Perhaps she just meant the News-Press, as she made
that statement on Thursday, the very day Sinanyan had his softball
interview on "Barev."
The other two no-shows were Edith Fuentes, who told Agajanian that she
had double-booked herself, and Mike Mohill, who supposedly told my
on-air host that he thought I'd be too hard on him.
I called Mohill to ask him what he meant, but he didn't return the call.
Well, there is it. Welcome to the true beginning of Glendale's
political season, where the mud flies and the accusations abound.
DAN EVANS is the editor.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress