Gomez chokes up at farewell reception

Tim Willert

GLENDALE CITY HALL -- An emotional Gus Gomez, his young daughter on

his hip, thanked his family and city employees for their support during

an informal reception in the city manager’s office Tuesday, a couple of

hours before his tenure as mayor ended.

Gomez wiped away tears as he addressed his colleagues on the City

Council and more than two dozen city officials for the last time as

mayor.

“So many times, when things got a little rough at City Hall, I could

go home and have two people there to support me,” Gomez said, referring

to his wife, Glynda, and the couple’s 15-month-old daughter, Amanda. “I

knew they would be there to greet me with a smile.”

Gomez received several gifts, including a T-shirt that read “Former

Mayor, Dad Forever,” and a framed picture of him and his daughter.

City Manager Jim Starbird read the Rudyard Kipling poem, “If,” that he

said drew parallels to Gomez’s tenure, which was marked by ups and downs.

Gomez was the subject of a recall campaign for ordering the American

flag lowered to half-staff in recognition of the Armenian Genocide. But

he pointed with pride to council decisions to hire more police officers

and reject the Oakmont View V project.

Councilman Frank Quintero predicted Gomez will be reelected to the

council and serve another term as mayor.

“Hopefully, next time it will be smoother,” Quintero said.

Councilman Bob Yousefian called Gomez a quiet leader who ran meetings

smoothly and without much fanfare.

“I am saddened that he had to go through so much turmoil during his

first seven or eight months,” Yousefian said. “But I think toward the

end, a lot of good things happened and we accomplished a lot of goals.”