GLENDALE : Candidates Launch Election Campaigns

The number of candidates expected to run for open seats on Glendale’s City Council, school board and college board continued to grow this week as several veteran and first-time office-seekers entered the fray for next April’s municipal elections.

David Weaver, who ran unsuccessfully last year to replace one of three retiring City Council incumbents, will challenge Mayor Eileen Givens and three-term Councilman Larry Zarian, who recently announced their reelection bids.

Weaver, 55, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the first candidate to officially enter the race against the two sitting council members, although John K. Beach, a two-time unsuccessful candidate, has said he might also run.

Peter Musurlian, an aide to U.S. Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale), said this week he will seek a seat on the Glendale Board of Education, a post he sought unsuccessfully four years ago.

Musurlian, chairman of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce education committee, will either run against Sharon Beauchamp or Blanche Greenwood, who have not yet stated whether they will seek reelection. John Gantus, an attorney, has also said he will vie for a seat on the school board.

Robert K. Holmes, president of the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees, said this week he will campaign for a fourth four-year term on the board. Holmes, who practices law in Glendale and teaches business law at the 13,000-student college, is the only one of the three incumbents to seek reelection.

Mary Hamilton, proprietor of a local investment management firm, said last week she will also run for a seat on the college board. Hamilton, who has never sought public office before, is a former Chamber of Commerce president.