But was I surprised that it happened? Kassakhian has his own deep-pocketed donors, including the teachers' union and real-estate interests. He is still being vastly outspent, however. And much of the money has gone into negative direct-mail flyers that allege he made ballot-counting errors as clerk which he denies, citing the results of an internal city audit and is a closet Republican which makes him laugh.
Although he says many Armenians used to be Republicans, in part because of the legacy of Governor Deukmejian in the s and the respect Armenian immigrants from the former Soviet Union had for Republican President Ronald Reagan, political trends in the community are heading to the left. Beyond his concerns over dark money pouring into his race of questionable origins, Mr Kassakhian says he still faces garden-variety discrimination, as well. Mr Kassakhian says he still keeps a voicemail from when he was running for city clerk in , left by a woman who said Armenians are criminals who should "go back where they came from".
He's rigging the election, just like they do back in In the 7 June California primary, Mr Kassakhian finished second behind Laura Friedman, the Glendale city council member who has benefited from the charter school efforts. The two Democrats will face off in the 8 November general election. A minute drive south of Glendale, and local election battles seem like a distant memory. The Armenia-El Salvador football match in Carson, California - part of a two-game visit by the Armenian national team to commemorate the founding of the first Armenian Republic on May 28, - is less a sporting match than a celebration of Armenian nationalism and culture.
The first Republic only survived two years, ending with its annexation by the Soviet Union. Upon the Soviet empire's collapse, however, Armenia regained its independence and has been an independent nation since For most Armenians in Los Angeles, the visit by the Armenian national team - and its star, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who currently plays for Manchester United - was the first chance to cheer for their homeland, and they did it with gusto - clad in red Armenian football jerseys, waving orange, red and blue Armenian flags, dancing to Armenian music over the stadium loudspeakers and chanting "Hayastan" - the Armenian word for their nation - throughout the match.
Sylvie and John Chatikachian brought their three children to the game and posed for a family photo, holding a long Armenian football scarf. Sylvie's great-grandparents came from Armenia. John fled to Los Angeles to live with relatives during Lebanon's civil war. His story is the Armenian experience on a small scale. His grandparents were forced from their homes by the Turks. His parents grew up in Aleppo, Syria - and he has lost contact with relatives there due to that nation's civil war.
The grocery, the bakery, and the magazine publisher print their signs in Armenian lettering. This clustering is not unusual in a city where some 80, Armenians—the second-largest number in the world after Yerevan—make their home.
In fact, the ability to foster a community regardless of the surrounding context seems to be representative of the Armenian experience en masse.
Under the Soviets, under the Ottomans, under the Persians, under the Byzantines, and on and on—the history of Armenians in many ways has been the practiced and stubborn refusal to relinquish a national identity in the face of invasion, occupation, persecution, genocide, or large-scale emigration.
In Glendale, Armenians can live comfortably and profitably without speaking a word of English. Armenian television stations, restaurants, churches, and schools are ubiquitous.
Moon Mart Corner is just one of many Armenian strongholds in the city. But one business there in particular has become a lodestone for my curiosity. Magic Brush Art Studio, located on the second floor of the plaza, bears no foreign letters on its windows, no puns, and certainly no flag-flying teeth. The lack of advertisement about its Armenian ownership is emphasized by its innocuously American mass-market name.
Climbing from the ground floor of Moon Market Corner to the second level, the smell of ripening produce is replaced by the chemical bite of acrylics and ink. A vast collection of paintings lines the walls and partitions, and countless more have been stacked in the nooks of makeshift halls. Busts and sculptures and wooden planks scarred by hot-iron etchings guard the end-caps like tombs.
Lifelike but nonliving models—ravens and peacocks and paper bouquets and baskets of plastic grapes—shine from their partitioned perches beneath the spectral light of a chandelier. Eventually, from his office in the back, my uncle comes to greet me. Shorter or not, he still brims with intimidating strength.
Whenever he looks elsewhere, at a painting or at my cousin, my own eyes instinctively follow. Even now, when I imagine him, he looks directly at me. Just as people have changing moods or contradictory feelings, an artist should be able to work in multiple styles.
Members of the new council majority are quick to say they do not consider themselves a voting bloc. They note that they ran for office on a broad range of mainstream issues, such as improving public safety, providing more affordable housing and overseeing the redevelopment of Brand Boulevard.
Manoukian, the mayor, also expressed pride over the election but said it represents a moment in time. Census Bureau. Sixty-five languages are spoken in the Glendale Unified School District. Voters in April also elected their first Armenian American city clerk, who ran on a platform of improving services to immigrants and increasing their participation in civic life. During the campaign, he initiated a broad voter registration effort, aggressively signing up new voters via Korean and Filipino newspapers, cable television and direct mail.
Berdj Karapetian, a businessman who has lived and worked in Glendale on and off since , said a big challenge for the new officials would be to serve all parts of Glendale, both rich and poor.
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