Council candidates talk term limits, development and declaring Glendale a ‘sanctuary city’
With the April 4 municipal election only a month away, nine Glendale City Council candidates who hope to fill three vacant seats came together Wednesday to answer questions about local issues.
Challengers Mike Van Gorder, Vrej Agajanian, Susan Wolfson, Mark MacCarley, Mike Mohill, Grant Michals and Rick Dinger joined incumbents Ara Najarian and Zareh Sinanyan for a public forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Glendale/Burbank in City Council chambers.
Candidate Onnik Mehrabian did not attend, but Sandi Cochran, logistics coordinator for his campaign, said later by email that he will attend future forums.
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After opening statements, each candidate answered a question given to them in advance — whether they supported Measure L, which proposes implementing a three-year term limit, 12 years total, for City Council members. It will be on the April 4 ballot.
Every candidate at the forum said they would vote “yes,” with the exception of incumbent Najarian, who said it “limits the choice of the voters” during an election.
Later, candidates answered one question each, with the following two candidates seated next to them —arranged by their names on the ballot — able to give a shorter response to the same question.
Mike Van Gorder agreed when asked whether he shared a community sentiment that, when it comes to significant development in Glendale, the public-input phase is either inadequate or too late in the process, and he said he would like to strengthen the Design Review Board’s capabilities.
In their response to that question, Agajanian and Wolfson said that they also are worried about rapid changes without proper feedback from the public.
“Public input needs to be taken into consideration as early and ... given as much weight as possible,” Wolfson said. “The neighbors, especially to proposed projects, are the people who are going to be the most affected by those projects.”
Sinanyan, MacCarley and Mohill gave their input about what incentives, if any, Glendale should consider to keep large businesses in the area, given the upcoming departure of food giant Nestlé USA from the city.
Sinanyan touted his part in the city’s technology initiative, which provides assistance and incentives to tech companies to come or stay in Glendale.
Mohill said the city needs to be more “business-friendly,” especially regarding what he said are high permit fees.
MacCarley said he’d fight to make sure Glendale got its fair share of state money for incentives.
“We have to make this city receptive to business,” MacCarley said. “Whether you like ... or don’t like business, business is the engine that provides us with the money to do good among all the people here in Glendale.”
Regarding a more national issue, Michals, Dinger and Najarian were asked if they would support a resolution declaring Glendale a “sanctuary city” for undocumented residents.
Michals said he supports the idea, adding that it was a matter of resources and he didn’t see the need for Glendale to be involved in immigration raids.
Although Dinger said he is also worried about stretching law enforcement too thin, he said a sanctuary city might bring about problems in the long run.
Najarian said he agreed with a statement Glendale Police Chief Robert Castro made once that the department will not devote resources to tracking down undocumented citizens.
“We have enough crime that we’re fighting in the city with the advent of the early release of felons from the state prison system and the county jail,” Najarian said, referring to state Proposition 57.
The next candidates forum, sponsored by the Chevy Chase Estates Assn., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Chevy Chase Library, 3301 E. Chevy Chase Drive, Glendale.
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Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com
Twitter: @JeffLanda
