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GLENDALE GETS OUT THE VOTE - For most Californians, June 2 is the primary election, narrowing the field for the main event in the fall. But in Glendale — nestled against Northeast L.A. and boasting the highest percentage of immigrants residents, at 51 percent, of any city in the western U.S. — the spring election is a one-and-done election.
There is no runoff. Results on June 2 shape city governance for at least the next two years, when the next Glendale city election occurs.
With official ballots now in voters’ hands, stakes in the decision by those who bother to actually mark and deliver them are pretty high — for the city of more than 200,000 residents, and beyond.
Three of the five City Council seats will be filled this election, with two incumbents, Elen Asatryan and Dan Brotman, seeking another term. So will both key citywide roles: City Clerk, an office now headed by respected mathematician and human-rights leader Dr. Suzie Abajian; and City Treasurer, where a trailblazer for transparency and prudent city investment, accountant Rafi Manoukian, heads the office, where he has led the way in hiring women professionals.
To join in voter outreach with local Democrats in Glendale on SATURDAY, May 16, send an email to [email protected]with this subject line: Glendale 5/16
So will three seats on the Glendale school board. Foremost among the current contests is that of Ingrid Gunnell, a longtime union leader and parent in the district who has ascended to the role of board president. Gunnell has helmed the board through four years of strident, often cruel and personal attacks by a small claque of anti-LGBTQ+ agitators aiming to distort curricula, divide the public, and weaken school funding. Such tactics have mostly backfired, and a broad coalition of residents and stakeholders has risen up to defend her and other board members. That includes walking precinct to ensure that voters support her and hold the clear line of facts, inclusivity, and focus on student achievement that she has maintained on the board.
To be part of getting out the vote in Glendale on SUNDAY, May 17, send an email to [email protected] with this subject line: Ingrid 5/17
Also up for election are two seats on the Glendale Community College board. An independent campus separate from L.A.’s regional college district, GCC overlooks the city from a knoll near its northeast edges. The college, its diverse student body, and its range of courses, including culinary arts, are a justified point of pride for many city residents.
Vibrant, world-class public education institutions and local governance that reflects the diversity, ingenuity, and teamwork of the community do not happen in their own. They take caring custodianship and investment, by people who care about unity, problem-solving, and honest public service. They require voting to support them, and volunteering to activate others in doing the same.
One lesson of the Trump nightmare in American civic life is that falsehoods and smears can distract, divide, and delude people from rot, disinvestment in human needs, and pocket-picking by greedy billionaires and corporations. Even solid institutions like public schools and the skilled, caring professionals who make them work can be caricatured, undercut, and defunded — with lives and communities despoiled as a result.
Glendalians and many stakeholders who embrace progress in the immigrant-majority city are rising up to prevent that from happening in this election. This weekend, with 2 volunteer get-out-the-vote gatherings sponsored by local Democrats, and the next three weeks are a golden opportunity to put core values of decency, respect for diversity, and love of democracy into action.
Members of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) have provided a Ballot Guide that includes Glendale contests.
(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)
