Incumbents Victor King and Mary Hamilton retained seats on the GCC Board of Trustees and were joined by newcomer Armine Hacopian in the April 3 municipal election.
On the city council, homeowners’ association leaders Bob Yousefian and Frank Quintero joined incumbent Dave Weaver to win seats on the city council.
Challenger Greg Krikorian and two incumbents, Jeanne K. Bentley and Chuck Sambar, won seats on the school board.
The city elections received a voter turnout of 19,856 out of the city’s voting population of 90,669, while the school board elections received 21,475 out of 103,203. The voting population for the school board is slightly larger than that of offices because the district includes unincorporated areas of La Crescenta and a small area of La Canada Flintridge.
Those elected to the college board of trustees beat out two other contestants, Phillip Kazanjian and Remi-Lani Altar. Hacopian, King, and Hamilton were endorsed by Professors for Quality Education, a group of educators at GCC. Math instructor Michael Allen said that Hacopian’s educational background and platform appealed to PQE.
Hacopian, an educator for more 30 years, advocates expanding the college’s ESL program. She also wants to develop safety regulations for students, such as providing escorts for female students in the evening in the parking lots and including personal safety instructions in student orientations. She said she intends to keep a high profile as a Board of Trustees member.
The Board of Trustees is the ultimate authority in GCC, Allen said. They oversee its fiscal health and stability, while serving as a bridge between the college and the community. The board will be sworn in at GCC on Monday.
In the city council elections, Weaver, Yousefian and Quintero emerged victorious over 10 other candidates. The three are allied with homeowners’ organizations and their victory solidified the group’s clout in city hall. The city council race was divided between homeowner and business interest groups.
The city council was formerly pro-business but is now in transition because representatives of homeowners’ associations won a majority of the council seats for the first time two years ago.
The council’s vote against deregulating the city’s power may have spared residents and businesses in the current energy crisis.