Zarian to Seek Election to a 3rd Council Term

Surrounded by community leaders outside Brand Library, Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian Wednesday became the third candidate to enter the campaign for City Council in the April 2 election.

Zarian, 53, is one of two council members whose seats are at stake in April. The other, Jerold Milner, said he will announce Tuesday whether he will seek another term.

Two other candidates, Mary Ann Plumley and Eileen Hadley Givens, have already launched their campaigns and begun lining up supporters.

Zarian, who is seeking his third four-year term on the council, said, “I distinguish myself from the other candidates because I have an eight-year record of accomplishments that I’m proud of. I stand on that.”

The council just completed a complex and time-consuming revision of the city’s development rules to curb a construction boom that has led to traffic problems and crowded schools.

“I want to make sure the growth management ordinance we just passed is implemented,” said the mayor, who retired after 20 years as the owner and operator of retail stores. “It’s not acceptable to me to have rampant growth in the city.”

To ease the city’s traffic problems, Zarian said he favors extending Glendale’s free Beeline shuttle service to Glendale College and Montrose. He also said the city must continue working on a light-rail system that would connect Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena.

He said he will work for the preservation and restoration of historic Glendale buildings, including the Alex Theatre. Zarian also said he will push for construction of more senior housing projects in Glendale.

He vowed to continue holding his monthly public forums, in which community members can discuss issues of concern with him.

The mayor said his reelection campaign will be managed by attorney Sheldon S. Baker, a former Glendale Unified School District Board of Education member.

Zarian was joined Wednesday by several prominent Glendale leaders who have endorsed him, including Carroll Parcher, former Glendale News-Press publisher and ex-mayor.

“He’s done an exemplary job, I think, as a city councilman and as a mayor,” Parcher said. “He’s worked a lot harder than I did as mayor because there’s a lot more to do now.”

Zarian was also endorsed by another former councilman, John F. Day, who said, “I have never met a more dedicated person who is available all the time.”

Zarian said that joining Parcher and Day as honorary campaign co-chairmen will be insurance businessman Noel R. Veden; Raymond D. Edwards, retired chief executive officer of Glendale Federal Bank; and Vonnie Rossman, chairman of the Glendale Historic Preservation Commission.

Among the other business and community leaders who helped in launching Zarian’s campaign were Isabel Ibarra, Ante Trinidad, Hamo Rostamian and Harry Hull.

Zarian was born in Massachusetts to immigrant parents and has lived in Glendale for more than 30 years. He studied at Glendale College and UCLA.

He has been active in numerous civic organizations and served on the Glendale Planning Commission and the Glendale Public Service Commission before his election to the council.