Three newcomers win election to Crescenta Valley Town Council
With the results tallied, three newcomers were elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council.
Lisa Griffin, who was previously a council alternate, won the most support in the election last week with 104 votes, followed by Michael Claessens, a fellow incumbent trailed Griffin with 102 votes.
Sophal Ear, a professor at Occidental College, received 90 votes, winning him a seat on the council for the first time.
Two other newcomers, Aram Ordubegian and JoAnn Stupakis, won 85 and 77 votes, respectively.
The two are hardly new to the La Crescenta community, however. Ordubegian is president of the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Stupakis is a longtime resident and Glendale Unified employee.
The longest-serving Crescenta Valley Town Council incumbent, Charles Beatty, who has been on the council since the early 1990s, got 66 votes.
Current members Robbyn Battles and Kyle Studebaker did not seek reelection this year, leaving the six open seats. Griffin, Claessens and Ear will occupy three of the council seats, and Ordubegian, Stupakis and Beatty will serve as alternates.
Candidates Joshua Wade, Alexandria Mirzakhanian and Kevin Kang received 39, 38 and 12 votes, respectively, not garnering enough votes to secure a seat.
Each of the elected members will bring a different focus.
Griffin wants to build on the council’s urban planning vision, while Claessens wants to guide the unincorporated territory through the election of a new county board supervisor who will be elected next year into the 5th District seat currently held by Michael D. Antonovich, who plans to run for state senate. Antonovich is being forced out of the county office due to term limits.
Ear is a Cambodian refugee who is raising his young family in La Crescenta and wants to see the area succeed, in addition to hearing what local residents want for the area.
Beautifying Foothill Boulevard is a major goal for Ordubegian, who said it would be a win-win for both residents and businesses.
Stupakis said she is driven to support historical preservation in La Crescenta.
A total of 222 residents voted for one to three candidates each in person on Nov. 6 or 7, while another 40 residents voted by absentee ballot, said Leslie Dickson, recording secretary for the Crescenta Valley Town Council.
The newly elected members are expected to be installed during a council meeting on Dec. 17.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
