GLENDALE : 3 Council Challengers Face 2 Incumbents

The three challengers in the race for Glendale City Council are all well aware of the obstacles they face as they gear up for the April elections: two well-entrenched incumbents seeking to hold onto their seats.

Yet David Weaver and David Wallis, both of whom ran unsuccessfully in the 1993 council election, as well as John Beach, who is making his third try for the office, all were upbeat Friday about their chances of unseating Mayor Eileen Givens and Councilman Larry Zarian.

Givens is completing her first four-year council term and Zarian is seeking a fourth term.

“I’ve been working to save the people money, and many of my ideas have already been implemented,” said Beach, 49, a semi-retired computer consultant and self-described “number cruncher” who has made suggestions on utility rate formulas and other matters to the council in recent years.

Among his campaign themes, Beach said, will be the future of a two-acre parcel of city land where the Glendale Fashion Center parking garage stood before it was destroyed by the Northridge earthquake. Beach said a ballot initiative should be drawn up so the voters can decide whether the parcel should be the site of a new police station, rather than spend “untold millions” to expand the existing station.

Wallis, 58, a retired Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, said he intends to “confront Zarian and Givens with regard to their performance at the city and county levels of government.” He said his goals would include the creation of a commission for senior citizens, formal night meetings for the council and term limits for elected city officials.

Weaver placed fourth in the 1993 election, when three new council members were elected. As president of the Glenoaks Canyon Homeowners Assn., he gained notoriety in the early 1990s in the fight to preserve Glendale’s hillsides from development. Weaver said he is eager to discuss a variety of issues during the campaign.

Zarian could not be reached for comment Friday, but has said that he is seeking reelection because his seniority on the council is valuable.

He also serves as vice chairman of the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a post he hopes to use to bring a light-rail transit system to Glendale and Burbank.

Givens said she has several proposals she wants to develop, including switching the weekly council meetings from the afternoon to the evening.

“We’re in the midst of a lot of long-range planning right now, and I think experience on the council is especially important,” she said. “A lot of things are moving to the front burner and we don’t want to lose momentum.”