Commission sides with Friedman, casts aside contested delegated votes for Kassakhian

Sixteen delegate votes that would have clinched a California Democratic Party endorsement for City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian in his bid for state Assembly were thrown out on Wednesday.

A Compliance Review Commission voted 6-0 to negate the delegate ballots and sided with Kassakhian’s opponent, Councilwoman Laura Friedman, whose camp contested them because they were cast by ineligible individuals.

Over the weekend, a caucus was held to determine who would get the party’s endorsement in the race to replace Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) in the 43rd Assembly district.

Kassakhian got 49 votes in his favor compared to Friedman’s 20, a lead that would have put Kassakhian over the edge to secure the endorsement.

However, Friedman’s supporters contested 18 of Kassakhian’s votes, saying they were cast by people appointed after the deadline to become a delegate.

In the end, 16 of those votes were tossed out, meaning neither candidate will get the endorsement.

“We still had far more votes than [Friedman] did,” said Larry Levine, a consultant to Kassakhian’s campaign. “That pretty much sums it up.”

He also said the commission’s decision would disenfranchise the delegates involved.

“They’re legitimate delegates, they pay their dues and they did everything before the deadline,” Levine said.

Levine said Democratic delegates appointed by elected officials such as State Supt. Tom Torlakson and Secretary of State Alex Padilla were asked to resign so they could appoint new ones who live in the 43rd district and thus be eligible to vote for Kassakhian. That practice is common, Levine added.

What irked Friedman’s camp was that the 16 new delegates were submitted at the last minute and some had even signed their votes before even being named delegates, said Parke Skelton, a campaign consultant for Friedman.

The appropriate deadline, he says, was eight weeks before the first party caucus as outlined by party bylaws, which means the deadline was this past December, Skelton said.

“We’re astonished [that] Ardy Kassakhian, a guy who’s a city clerk and responsible for running elections, would stoop to attempting to steal this endorsement with a ballot-stuffing scheme,” Skelton said.

Levine said the delegates whose votes were thrown out can appeal the commission’s decision, though his side won’t push for it.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian