Krekorian wins Assembly seat

GLENDALE — Burbank Unified School District Board member Paul Krekorian won termed-out Majority Leader Dario Frommer’s 43rd State Assembly District seat Tuesday night, with 62.9% of the vote.

At his victory party at the Minx restaurant in Glendale Tuesday night, Krekorian expressed his objective of representing the interests of all facets of the district.

“This is a district with great diversity in every respect — ethnically, in terms of income, geographically and so on — but I think that the people of this district have common interests,” he said.

Strong public education, equal access to health insurance and relief of traffic congestions — all issues espoused during his campaign — will be among his priorities as a legislator, he said.

Burbank resident and Republican Michael Agbaba, who won 30% of the vote, conceded victory to his opponent on Wednesday.

“Congratulations to our new assemblyman Mr. Paul Krekorian and his family,” he said.

“I am very thankful to all voters who voted for me; it was a great experience for me personally. I know that Mr. Krekorian will represent the 43rd district with the best interests at heart.”

While in the public eye during his campaign, Agbaba was contacted by a relative he had sought out for 26 years.

He had lost touch with his niece, Jasna Agbaba, 28, when the Eastern European communist regime limited communication between those inside and outside of the Iron Curtain, he said. She now lives in Winnipeg, Canada.

“I’m the uncle she never knew,” he said. “Finding her was the real victory.”