The latest exhibition, “Dreams Gather Here,” by artist Rachel Hakimian Emenaker, invites viewers into a world shaped by migration, cultural inheritance and diasporic memory.

Emenaker’s work blends influences from her upbringing in both Suriname and Moscow, Russia, merging traditional craft practices with contemporary art.

“I draw deeply from where I grew up, so I grew up in a country called Suriname, as well as in Moscow, Russia, and so I try to meld the both practices I grew up alongside,” Emenaker said. “Things such as Batik, or what would be considered craft practices in a Western vocabulary with contemporary art.”

The exhibition explores diaspora as a shared emotional and physical space — one where dreams, histories and identities travel across borders and generations.

“I was thinking of this idea for a diasporic architecture where so many people from different places have come with their dreams, with their hopes, and also left their dreams behind to come here for various reasons,” Emenaker said. “I thought about this gathering place and this melding of both dreams for the future to come, dreams that have been left behind, as well as dreams that we’ve inherited.”

According to Ara Oshagan, curator of ReflectSpace, the gallery has served as a platform for socially engaged exhibitions since opening in 2017. Over the years, the space has hosted more than 50 exhibitions focused on issues ranging from diaspora and displacement to civil rights, cultural memory and identity.

Oshagan said he first encountered Emenaker’s work at one of her gallery openings and immediately recognized how strongly it aligned with ReflectSpace’s mission.

“I think the unique thing about Rachel’s work is that she has this idea of diasporic architecture,” Oshagan said. “What do the spaces that diasporic people walk through, and exist in and live in look like? She goes back to the past, the present and looks into the future and creates these landscapes that are here and not here at the same time.”

Several pieces in the exhibition feature iconic Armenian-owned restaurants in Los Angeles, including Zankou Chicken and Falafel Arax. Through these familiar community spaces, the exhibition highlights how food becomes a vessel for preserving identity, memory and cultural continuity within diaspora communities.

“Falafel Arax and Zankou Chicken are both from Lebanon, so there’s this trajectory,” Oshagan explained. “Of course they are from Western Armenia, displaced during the genocide, so restaurants themselves have this history of displacement and movement across generations.”

Oshagan said ReflectSpace intentionally centers exhibitions that reflect the diversity of Glendale and the broader Los Angeles region. Past exhibitions have explored topics including Korean history, slavery, Indigenous rights, LGBTQ experiences, the Holocaust and Japanese internment.

“Over the last nine years, we’ve addressed all these different issues that impact not only our local community, but our region as well as the nation,” Oshagan said.

For Emenaker, Glendale represents a unique convergence of diasporic experiences and cultural histories.

“There have been so many waves, and ongoing waves that have come in here, and each one has brought their unique stories, their own unique culture,” she said. “The Armenian diaspora is so vast, there’s so many different pockets and traditions and ways of seeing and ways of living, and it’s very special to see all of that converge in one area.”

Rousey returned to mixed martial arts Saturday, May 16, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood and defeated Gina Carano with the same move that once made her the most feared woman in combat sports. She took Carano down, trapped her arm and forced the tap.

The armbar came fast. The larger meaning came later, in the numbers, the reaction and the strange quiet that follows a career finally ending.

A Record Night on Netflix

The fight headlined Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event on Netflix. It drew a peak global audience of nearly 17 million viewers, according to Netflix and MVP. It averaged 12.4 million live viewers worldwide. In the United States, the main event peaked at 11.6 million viewers, topping the previous U.S. MMA television record of 8.8 million viewers for UFC on Fox in 2011, according to Reuters.

For people who do not follow the sport, MMA combines boxing, wrestling, judo, jiu-jitsu and other fighting styles. It rewards strength, timing, endurance and nerve. It also rewards attention.

That made Saturday night more than a comeback fight.

Rousey carried an old argument back into the cage with her. Women have spent years proving they can sell tickets, carry pay-per-view cards and hold the attention of casual viewers. Rousey helped settle that debate once before. Saturday night gave her one more answer.

She won quickly, with the old move, in front of millions, and left before the sport could ask for more.

Two Pioneers Meet in The Cage

Rousey beat Carano in a featherweight bout that brought together two women from different chapters of the same story. Carano helped make women’s fighting visible before the UFC embraced it. Rousey made it impossible to ignore. Carano had not fought in 17 years. Rousey had not fought in mixed martial arts in nearly a decade, according to The Associated Press.

Then the cage door closed. The clock started. The crowd barely had time to settle in.

Seventeen seconds later, it ended.

“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” Rousey said after the fight, according to Reuters. She also called it “a storybook ending.”

That kind of phrase can feel too neat in a sport built on damage. Fighting rarely gives clean exits.

Rousey found one anyway.

Rewriting The Final Image

Her first MMA run ended with two brutal losses. Holly Holm knocked her out in 2015. Amanda Nunes stopped her in 48 seconds in 2016. For years, those images followed her. The head kick. The punches. The silence after the noise.

That is the cruel part of fighting. A career can last years. The public memory often keeps one frame.

The sport kept moving during her years away. New champions rose. New personalities took over.

New audiences found the UFC and other promotions through streaming, social media and crossover events. Rousey returned to a different landscape and still made the room turn toward her.

Rousey changed the frame Saturday night.

After the fight, Rousey made clear this marked the end. In a statement cited by MMA Fighting, she wrote that she had been “procrastinating admitting that it’s really over.”

A Legacy Beyond the Record

Rousey leaves with a professional MMA record of 13 wins and two losses. She also leaves with a legacy that reaches beyond the record.

She won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport. She became Strikeforce champion. She became the UFC’s first women’s bantamweight champion. She became the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Those milestones tell the public story. The private work happened in gyms, on mats, in repetitions and in the discipline of a fighter who built her identity around finishing.

Rousey arrived when women in combat sports still had to answer questions men rarely faced.

Could they draw? Could they headline? Could viewers care?

A generation of fighters answered those questions in blood, sweat and ratings. Rousey supplied some of the loudest answers.

An Armenian American Connection

Her story also carries a local and Armenian American layer. Her connection comes through training, coaching and advocacy.

She trained for years with Edmond Tarverdyan, an Armenian American coach at Glendale Fighting Club. She also had ties to Hayastan MMA Academy in North Hollywood, founded by Armenian American grappling coach Gokor Chivichyan. Sports Illustrated reported in 2015 that Tarverdyan is of Armenian descent and that Rousey traveled to Armenia with him for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

That visit mattered. Rousey lent her celebrity to a cause Armenians had carried for generations. She called attention to genocide recognition at a time when the word still carried political weight.

The Washington Post reported that her visit included urging leaders to use the word “genocide” to describe the killings of 1915.

For many Armenian fans, that gave Rousey a place beyond the cage. She stood near a wound that did not belong to her. That kind of gesture lasts in a community.

A Business Result With Cultural Weight

Saturday night carried several stories at once. A comeback. A retirement. A streaming milestone. A women’s sports argument settled again in public. A fighter taking back her final scene.

Carano’s presence added its own symbolism. She represented the earlier era, when women’s MMA had visibility without the full machinery of the UFC behind it. Rousey represented the breakthrough. Together, they gave Netflix and MVP a main event built on nostalgia, history and curiosity.

Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, now has a combat sports result that reaches beyond one fight card. Reuters reported that Bidarian said the event’s success has drawn interest from investors, partners and fighters as the company considers its MMA future with Netflix.

That is the business side. Streaming platforms want live sports because live sports still make people gather at the same time. Combat sports adds spectacle, conflict and urgency.

For Rousey, the last image now looks different: one more takedown, one more armbar and one last night with millions watching.

Ronnie Gharibian says Glendale needs housing.

But he says the city should not rush into projects simply to satisfy the state.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should use “common sense logic” as it responds to state housing mandates, budget pressure and growing concerns over traffic safety.

“Housing is not necessarily it’s needed now,” Gharibian said. “We always need housing. Shelter is one of the most important issues that humans, we have.”

Gharibian is running for Glendale City Council. In the interview, he directed voters to RonnieForGlendale.com for more information about his campaign. His campaign message, as presented in the interview, centers on careful planning, public safety, budget review, new revenue and practical solutions for traffic and housing.

Gharibian said California’s housing pressure comes from a broader shortage, not just a Glendale problem. He said low interest rates during the pandemic, fewer people selling homes and growing rental needs all play a role.

But he said Glendale still needs to decide where housing belongs.

“We have to use common sense logic,” Gharibian said. “It’s like art.”

He said larger buildings should conform to the neighborhoods around them. He said the city should not place what he called an “eyesore building” in the middle of a single family residential area.

“You can’t put an eyesore building in middle of a single family residence,” Gharibian said. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Gharibian said Glendale should ask the state for more time to study sites before moving forward with major housing projects.

“Give us time,” Gharibian said. “Let’s take our study, let’s do our research, let’s find location that is conforming to what you want us to do.”

He said the city should consider whether housing can be spread across several smaller sites instead of concentrated into one large project. He pointed to the former Sears site downtown as an example of a large project that may fit the surrounding area better than it would in a residential neighborhood.

“At least it’s in a location that it handles the type of the property,” Gharibian said.

But he said other sites need more scrutiny. He mentioned areas near Glendale College and said some locations do not make sense for large housing projects because they sit in residential neighborhoods.

“We need it, but we need to study where,” Gharibian said. “It has to be conforming to the area.”

Gharibian said housing also carries costs beyond construction. More residents require more service from police, fire and infrastructure. He said those impacts need to shape city decisions.

“That’s a different problem, that’s a budget issue,” he said.

On the budget, Gharibian said Glendale should protect police and fire funding. He called those departments the city’s most important services and said they help define Glendale’s quality of life.

“Glendale Police and Fire, it’s our biggest expense we have,” Gharibian said. “But at the same time, it’s also the most important and most valuable thing we have.”

He said Glendale’s safety separates it from many other cities in Los Angeles County.

“If we didn’t have the Glendale Police and fire, the safety, the way we have, Glendale wouldn’t be Glendale,” he said.

Gharibian said cutting public safety spending could change the city’s character.

“Cutting that budget, I would say it would be very dangerous to touch,” he said.

But he said the city should review contracts more aggressively. Gharibian said many city expenses come through third-party contracts that may renew without enough scrutiny.

“My first thing, once I’m elected, is bring all the contracts in,” Gharibian said. “I don’t care, it’s being expired six months from now or three years from now. Bring it in.”

He said the city should review whether it can seek new bids and get better pricing before contracts renew.

“Can we put more RFPs out there, be able to get it cheaper and better?” Gharibian said.

Still, Gharibian said cuts alone will not fix the city’s budget problem. He compared the city budget to a household budget and said reducing one bill does not solve a bigger income problem.

“If your income is less, you have more expenses, you cut the cable bill, that’s not going to fix your problem,” Gharibian said.

He said Glendale needs more revenue, but not by raising taxes on residents.

“More revenue doesn’t mean taxes,” Gharibian said.

Gharibian pointed to the Americana at Brand as an example of outside spending that benefits the city through sales tax. He said Glendale cannot simply duplicate the Americana, but it can look for similar revenue through restaurants, events and attractions that bring people in from outside the city.

“Americana is bringing in outside money,” Gharibian said.

He mentioned examples in other cities, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Hollywood Bowl and Starlight Bowl in Burbank, as types of attractions that generate outside revenue.

“These are extra revenues the cities can bring in from outside money,” he said.

Gharibian said Glendale needs leaders who can plan years ahead, not just react to each budget cycle.

“City cannot live paycheck to paycheck,” Gharibian said. “You have to plan 10 years ahead.”

On transportation, Gharibian said safety should come first, especially for pedestrians.

“Safety obviously is first,” Gharibian said. “Especially pedestrians crossing the streets.”

But he questioned whether narrowing traffic lanes will solve speeding or safety problems. He said drivers may simply move onto other streets, creating new danger in residential areas.

“Narrowing down the lane to force the driver to slow down, that’s not going to work,” Gharibian said. “The drivers will find other ways, other streets that makes it even more dangerous.”

He said reducing lanes on major corridors could push drivers to streets such as Kenneth Road, where more pedestrians may face risk.

“So you have to be careful what the consequences are,” Gharibian said.

Gharibian said the city should plan ahead before making major street changes. He said speed cameras, police presence in known speeding areas and public education can all help.

“Police force has to be more present on the areas that we know speeding is there,” Gharibian said.

He also suggested using crashed cars as visual reminders to discourage reckless driving.

“Remind them, educate them,” Gharibian said. “Educating is the best way.”

Gharibian said the same idea applies beyond traffic. He said residents need more information about housing, budgets and public safety so they can better understand city decisions.

“People have to be engaged,” he said. “They have to be educated.”

At the end of the interview, Gharibian directed voters to RonnieForGlendale.com and said he is available to speak with residents.

“I’m available for anyone, anytime,” Gharibian said.

Candidate profile

Ronnie Gharibian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Gharibian is running for Glendale City Council and directed voters in the Inclusive Voices Media interview to RonnieForGlendale.com for more information about his campaign. In the interview, he emphasized planning, public safety, business activity, contracts, revenue and traffic safety.
Key campaign themes: Careful housing placement, neighborhood compatibility, police and fire funding, contract review, new revenue without new taxes, long-term budget planning, pedestrian safety and traffic education.
Campaign website: RonnieForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Gevork Gevorkian says Glendale needs more housing.

But he says it needs a plan first.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city must add housing without damaging the character that makes people want to live there.

“We need properly planned,” Gevorkian said. “Because we all understand that the city is growing, and we need more housing to have affordability here in the city.”

Gevorkian is running for Glendale City Council as a housing advocate. In the interview, he said he owns an architectural business and has experience in planning and development. He also described himself as a former army surgeon from Artsakh and said that experience shapes how he views public safety spending.

His campaign message centers on housing affordability, infrastructure, public safety, better planning, faster permits and support for local businesses.

Gevorkian said Glendale needs housing so young people and middle class families can stay in the city.

“Our younger generation can stay, can afford to stay here in Glendale, and they don’t leave Glendale,” Gevorkian said.

But he warned that growth cannot come at the cost of Glendale’s identity.

“If we destroy the character of Glendale, we all will leave Glendale,” Gevorkian said. “So we need to protect the character of Glendale.”

Gevorkian said the city should place larger housing projects in areas that can handle them. He pointed to downtown Glendale, the Civic Center area and the San Fernando corridor near train stations as places where more housing could work.

He also said Glendale should prepare for SB 79, the state law that could allow more housing near some transit stops. Gevorkian said most candidates oppose the law, but he believes the city now needs to manage it carefully instead of pretending it can stop it.

“It’s too late,” Gevorkian said. “We don’t have the time to oppose it. We need to properly manage to get the benefits from the SB 79.”

He said every policy has tradeoffs, and the city’s job is to protect neighborhoods while using the parts of the law that could help Glendale.

“Nothing in the world has just bad sides,” Gevorkian said. “You have good sides and the bad sides.”

Gevorkian said he has spoken with residents in single family neighborhoods who worry about nine story apartment buildings on smaller streets. He said those concerns make sense because emergency vehicles need room to respond.

“In these small streets, we can’t have a nine story apartment building,” Gevorkian said. “During an emergency, our firefighters, our police officers, they are not going to be able to come and save you.”

Gevorkian said Glendale also needs housing for the middle class. He said the city has programs for low income residents and wealthy residents can afford Glendale, but many middle class families have fewer options.

“We don’t have anything managed for the middle class,” Gevorkian said. “That’s one of my main concerns.”

On the budget, Gevorkian said the city should not cut police or fire funding.

He said his experience in Artsakh taught him the importance of protecting the people who protect the public.

“As a former army surgeon from Artsakh, where I served, this was a 30, 35 years war area,” Gevorkian said. “I know firsthand that you can’t reduce the budget from those people who are protecting you in the city.”

He said that means police and fire should remain protected from cuts.

“You can’t cut the budget of your heroes,” Gevorkian said.

Gevorkian said the city should first look for misspending. He pointed to the North Brand Boulevard bike lane project as one example. He said the project cost about $2 million, including roughly half a million dollars for design.

“We lost $2 million over there,” Gevorkian said. “The half million of it was just a design.”

As the owner of an architectural business, Gevorkian said the design cost did not make sense to him.

“I would love to see a design that costs half a million, just for a street,” he said. “It’s not a building, it’s not a high riser.”

Gevorkian also questioned whether the city reused designs when it considered other street projects. He said Glendale should review spending more carefully before cutting core services or raising taxes.

“At the first, we cut the misspendings, then we will not have the deficit,” Gevorkian said.

He said Glendale also needs more revenue. But he said the city can raise revenue by helping businesses open faster, not by raising taxes.

“Businesses are leaving Glendale right now because of the high sales tax,” Gevorkian said.

He said the city’s permitting process takes too long and discourages new businesses from coming to Glendale. He compared Glendale’s process with Los Angeles and said business permits can take years in Glendale.

“Why does it take two months over there and two years here?” Gevorkian said.

He said faster permits would help attract businesses and bring more tax revenue into the city.

“When we expedite the permitting process, a lot of new businesses will join the city,” Gevorkian said. “Then we can collect more taxes without raising taxes.”

On transportation, Gevorkian said Glendale needs better planning before it removes lanes for bicycles or buses.

He said reckless driving creates danger for pedestrians and cyclists. He said the city should not place bike lanes in areas where drivers already speed or behave dangerously without first addressing safety.

“If you face the reckless driving on this street, and you bring somebody with a bicycle over there, you’re bringing danger to this person’s life,” Gevorkian said.

Gevorkian said the question is not whether bike lanes should exist. The question is where they make sense.

“Let’s plan properly where to put these bicycle lanes,” he said.

He also raised concerns about bus lanes. Gevorkian said the city needs stronger bus infrastructure before removing car lanes for dedicated bus lanes.

“If we remove just a lane to add buses there, so it means we remove a lane from the cars,” Gevorkian said. “But because we don’t have buses, we’re just having an empty lane over there.”

He said Glendale should first expand bus service and show people that buses can become a useful way to travel.

“Let’s at the first grow the infrastructure for the buses,” Gevorkian said. “Have more buses, teach the people that we can travel with the buses as well.”

Gevorkian said the city should protect buses only after it builds a system people use.

“If we don’t have a bus, who are we protecting?” he said.

Gevorkian ended the interview by directing voters to his campaign website and Instagram account. He said he hopes to earn support in the June 2 election.

“I hope to earn your support during this race,” Gevorkian said.

Candidate profile

Gevork Gevorkian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Gevorkian identifies himself as a housing advocate. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, he said he owns an architectural business and has experience with planning and development. He also described himself as a former army surgeon from Artsakh.
Key campaign themes: Housing affordability, middle class housing, protection of neighborhood character, infrastructure planning, public safety, faster permits, business growth, cutting misspending and safer transportation planning.
Campaign website: ElectGevork.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Elen Asatryan says Glendale cannot cut its way into a stronger future.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council member and former mayor said the city needs to protect core services, generate new revenue and push back where it can against state housing mandates that she called “heavy handed.”

Asatryan said she shares residents’ concerns about growth, traffic, neighborhood character and infrastructure.

“I share the same concerns as our residents,” Asatryan said. “You have seen that time and again when these items have come up on the dais.”

Asatryan is running for another term on the Glendale City Council. Her campaign biography describes her as a councilwoman, former mayor, human and civil rights advocate, community organizer and businesswoman. She has focused much of her public work on civic engagement, women and girls, public safety, immigrant communities, parks, youth programs and stronger communication between City Hall and residents.

In the interview, Asatryan said Glendale cannot simply stop state housing mandates. But she said the city can work with other cities and state lawmakers to seek changes.

“We can’t stop the mandates,” Asatryan said. “We can group with other cities to be able to advocate for amendments to some of these very heavy handed mandates that are coming down from Sacramento.”

Asatryan said Glendale now faces a requirement for about 13,000 new housing units. She called that number “absolutely bonkers.”

But she said the real question is where that housing goes.

“It’s really important for us to look at the land that we have in the city of Glendale,” Asatryan said.

She pointed to the San Fernando Corridor as one area where the city can look for housing opportunities. She said housing should go in places where infrastructure can support it, rather than forcing all growth into downtown or pushing density into single-family neighborhoods.

“One of the things that I championed during my tenure was looking at the San Fernando Corridor,” Asatryan said.

Asatryan said she remains proud of Glendale’s record on affordable housing. But she said new housing brings real costs that the state does not always address.

She said the city must pay for police officers, dispatchers, roadwork, utilities and traffic needs when thousands of new residents move in.

“I have grave concerns about how we fund the rest of the things that come with added housing,” Asatryan said. “That includes our public safety, that includes our infrastructure, that includes our power grid.”

She pointed to a Central Avenue project as an example. Asatryan said the council opposed the project, but state rules limited the city’s ability to shape or reject it.

“We as a council voted against it, knowing that we couldn’t,” Asatryan said. “We were basically a rubber stamp for Sacramento.”

She said the frustration came from having a project before the council without the power to demand community-serving changes.

“Why is it in front of me if I can’t vote no?” Asatryan said.

Asatryan said she wanted the ability to require features such as green space or a grocery store on the ground floor, so residents could meet daily needs without getting into a car.

“It’s not that I don’t want the housing,” she said. “But if we can’t dictate what that project looks like at the heart of our city,” the city loses one of its most important planning tools.

On the budget, Asatryan said she voted against last year’s budget because she does not believe cuts and taxes should serve as the first response to budget pressure.

“I was the only council member that voted against the budget last year,” Asatryan said. “Because I think cuts and adding taxes are the lazy way of budgeting.”

Asatryan said she has brought forward at least 10 to 12 revenue-generating ideas during her time on the council. She said those ideas have not moved quickly enough.

She pointed to a public-private partnership for electric vehicle chargers as one example. She also said she met with the president of the California Bears about a possible ice hockey and ice skating facility in Glendale.

Asatryan said a similar facility in Pasadena generates about $1.5 million for that city.

“They were looking at doing two sheets,” Asatryan said. “It’s been sitting there for two years without it being brought to a vote.”

She said Glendale needs to move faster on projects that can bring in money without cutting services or adding taxes.

“I believe in revenue generation,” Asatryan said. “I believe in being creative in how we generate revenue.”

Asatryan said she would not support cuts to public safety, permitting or communication with residents.

“I am not willing to make cuts to public safety,” Asatryan said. “I’m not willing to make cuts to anything that impacts permitting. I’m not interested in anything that impacts communication to residents.”

She also said Glendale invests nothing in programming specifically for women and girls within a $1.27 billion budget. She called that unacceptable.

“We also make $0 investments in women and girls programming in a $1.27 billion budget,” Asatryan said. “That is insane to me.”

Asatryan connected that concern directly to public safety. She said Glendale police received more than 635 domestic violence calls last year.

“That is 635 too many calls,” Asatryan said.

She said the city can continue to send officers to respond after violence happens, or it can invest in resources that help families leave dangerous situations earlier.

“This is not a women and girls issue,” Asatryan said. “This is a public safety issue that has generational impact.”

Asatryan said she also wants to protect parks, arts, green spaces and libraries because they shape daily life in Glendale.

“Those are the things that people love about Glendale,” she said.

She also defended festivals and community events, saying they bring people together and help local businesses.

“It’s not just great for the soul,” Asatryan said. “It brings community together, but it also an indirect source of revenue for the city.”

She said visitors who come to Glendale for family-friendly events also spend money at coffee shops, restaurants and stores.

Transportation came next.

Asatryan said she has pushed for better public transportation and a review of current transit routes and schedules. She said Glendale must improve mobility for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and businesses while recognizing that street design affects safety.

“Public transportation is something that I’ve been pushing for for the last three and a half years,” Asatryan said.

She said Glendale has a strong public safety record overall, but a serious traffic and pedestrian safety problem.

“We’re one of the safest cities in the nation, and that doesn’t happen by accident,” Asatryan said. “We’re also one of the worst cities when it comes to pedestrian and traffic safety.”

She said Glendale needs to look at how it engineers streets, times signals and designs crosswalks.

“How we engineer our streets moving forward is going to be really important,” Asatryan said.

She also said education plays a role, along with smaller changes such as traffic signals and crosswalk lighting.

Asatryan closed the interview by directing voters to her social media accounts and campaign website, ElectElen.com. She said she hopes to earn voters’ support again.

“I hope to earn your vote and your support again,” Asatryan said.

Candidate profile

Elen Asatryan
Race: Glendale City Council.
Current role: Glendale City Council member and former mayor.
Background: Asatryan’s campaign biography describes her as a human and civil rights advocate, community organizer and businesswoman. Her public service work has focused on civic engagement, women and girls, youth programs, public safety, parks, immigrant communities and resident communication.
Key campaign themes: Revenue generation, affordable housing, public safety, women and girls programming, domestic violence prevention, parks, arts, libraries, community events, improved public transportation and safer streets.
Campaign website: ElectElen.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Evelina Sarian says Glendale should stop acting like it has no power.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should take a stronger position against state housing pressure, rethink transportation planning and focus city spending on safety, security and basic needs.

“I feel Sacramento is playing a trick on us with developers and trying to flood Glendale people with Sacramento money to move their agenda forward,” Sarian said. “And I’m completely against that.”

Sarian is running for Glendale City Council on a platform she describes as focused on a safer, stronger and family-friendly Glendale. Her campaign materials emphasize public safety, local control, traffic concerns, small business needs and preserving the city’s character.

In the interview, Sarian said Glendale should grow on its own terms. She said she opposes state pressure to build large apartment projects that she believes do not fit the city.

“Our city is beautiful city, and it needs to grow organically and needs housing where we actually need it,” Sarian said. “Not to be pressured to build Eastern Bloc-style high-rises.”

Sarian said she is running to challenge state mandates and push back on Sacramento.

“I’m running to stand up to Sacramento,” she said.

Asked how Glendale could respond when the state controls much of the housing process, Sarian said the city should negotiate more aggressively. She said her business experience taught her that government decisions can change if city leaders take a stronger position.

“I’ve been in a business world for a very long time, and I believe in negotiations,” Sarian said. “I believe that you can negotiate a lot of things.”

She rejected what she called a victim mentality at City Hall.

“You need to be a little proactive, not just be like, oh, well, we’re victims,” Sarian said. “I don’t accept that victim mentality, and I’m not going to succumb to it.”

On the budget, Sarian said Glendale should both cut unnecessary spending and bring in new revenue. She said the city should start by eliminating what she called pet projects.

“Let’s eliminate pet projects,” Sarian said.

She pointed to the Brand Boulevard bike lane project as an example. Sarian owns Gravel, a business on Brand Boulevard, and said the project hurt the area.

“My store, Gravel, is right on Brand, and they put those lanes,” Sarian said.

She also criticized ideas she said lack practical planning, including community gardens near freeways. She said city projects should not sound good in theory but fail in real life.

“Unnecessary pet projects that are just philosophically seem right, but don’t make sense in actual world,” Sarian said. “We need to cut those.”

Sarian said her top spending priorities would center on safety and security. She said Glendale should support police and fire services, reduce reckless driving and take stronger steps to prevent fire hazards.

“We need to support our policemen, we need to support our fire,” Sarian said. “We need to create initiatives that prevent reckless driving on our streets.”

Transportation gave Sarian another opening to argue for local solutions over big regional projects.

She said bike lanes do not make sense in congested areas because they create more traffic pressure. She said Glendale should instead expand local transit options that help residents move within the city.

“Bike lanes, no, in the congestion areas,” Sarian said. “It creates more congestions, that’s a no.”

Sarian said the city should explore smaller clean-air vehicles, including electric or hydrogen-powered minibuses. She said she got the idea from older Glendale residents who told her the Beeline helps but does not reach enough smaller streets.

“We can do mini vents that go in a lot more streets and provide help with elderly,” Sarian said.

Sarian said Glendale should focus first on the needs of people who already live in the city before building transportation systems that bring more pressure from outside.

“I think promoting transportation within Glendale, making it more robust public transportation,” Sarian said. “Let’s look inside and clean our house.”

She said the planned bus rapid transit line could bring new complications, including more pressure for dense housing. She said the city should try to delay it or find smarter ways to respond to it.

“Maybe we need to have smarter ways to deal with it,” Sarian said.

Asked who should get top consideration in transportation planning, Sarian said bicyclists should not come first. She described Glendale as a family-friendly, driver-oriented city and said city planning should reflect how people actually live.

“How many bicyclists you’ve seen in Glendale?” Sarian said. “So, bicyclist is not your priority, definitely not.”

She said families, older adults and shoppers need realistic transportation options.

“How can you put your child, your grandma on the bicycle and take them to shop to grocery store?” Sarian said.

Sarian said she supports smaller buses and more neighborhood coverage, especially for people who want to park once and move around downtown Glendale without repeatedly driving.

“I would prefer to drive my car somewhere and then use public transportation within at least Glendale downtown,” she said.

She said hydrogen-powered transit could give the city a cleaner option without relying on bike lanes as the answer to every traffic problem.

“It’s only a messiah that’s going to come and save us. It’s not true,” Sarian said.

At the end of the interview, Sarian said voters should think about what kind of city they want Glendale to become.

“You have to imagine what city you want to live in and choose candidates according to your vision of the future of the city,” she said.

She directed residents to her campaign Instagram account, Vote for Evelina, and said voters can contact her campaign there.

Candidate profile

Evelina Sarian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Sarian is a Glendale business owner. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, she identified Gravel on Brand Boulevard as her store and spoke about her experience in business and negotiations. Her campaign materials describe her as focused on a safer, stronger and family-friendly Glendale.
Key campaign themes: Public safety, local control, opposition to dense state-driven housing mandates, cutting pet projects, reckless driving enforcement, fire prevention, small business concerns and stronger local transportation within Glendale.
Campaign contact: Vote for Evelina on Instagram.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Box 1: Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Vrej Agajanian says Glendale needs more affordable housing.

He also says City Hall needs to stop spending money on projects that do not solve basic problems.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate and former council member said housing should remain one of the city’s top priorities. But he said the city must also review its budget, cut waste and avoid spending money simply because outside funds become available.

“Housing is very important issue, very difficult issue,” Agajanian said.

Agajanian served on the Glendale City Council from 2017 to 2022. In the interview, he said housing became a priority for him when he first joined the council.

“When I got elected in 2017, the very first thing I did, I pushed to create housing units,” Agajanian said.

He said that work helped create hundreds of affordable units. He said Glendale created 577 affordable housing units, followed by another 69. He said he also wanted to create another 289 units before he left office in 2022.

Agajanian said he wants to return to the council and continue that work.

“Housing is the most important issue that I will be concentrated on,” he said.

For Agajanian, the issue reaches beyond construction numbers. He said rising housing costs push families out of Glendale. That separates grandparents from grandchildren and weakens the family networks that give the city much of its character.

“Residents of Glendale, they’re leaving this city, which it hurts me,” Agajanian said.

He said many young people leave for nearby communities because they cannot find housing they can afford in Glendale. That changes daily life for families who want to stay close.

“The family grows larger, the youngsters, they have to leave,” he said.

Agajanian said the city still has to respond to state housing requirements. He said California requires Glendale to create the conditions for more than 13,000 housing units, even if the city does not have to build every unit itself.

He said Glendale must remain focused on affordable housing, especially for residents who want to stay in the city but cannot keep up with rising costs.

“When I go back, I definitely have to pay attention to create more affordable housing,” Agajanian said.

On the city budget, Agajanian said Glendale should cut waste before raising fees or using reserves.

He said he has experience managing major projects. He described himself as a licensed professional engineer in California and said he worked as project engineer on the San Diego Naval Medical Center. He also said he runs two TV stations.

Agajanian said that experience shapes how he looks at the city budget.

“The first thing you look back to see where you’re going to cut,” he said. “If then still after cut things we shouldn’t spend on, then you go and raise the fees.”

He said City Hall too often looks first at fee increases instead of spending reductions.

“First show me where you will cut before you raise the fees,” Agajanian said.

Agajanian said he does not want the city to use reserves before cutting unnecessary spending.

“I do not like to touch the reserve before you do the cuts,” he said.

He also questioned how the city has explained its deficit. He said officials first discussed a $37 million deficit, then later reduced the figure to about $19 million or $20 million.

“That’s not true, things are not okay,” Agajanian said.

When asked where he would cut, Agajanian said the city has many projects that exist only to make Glendale “look good.” He said he would review the budget closely and identify spending that does not meet a real need.

“There are projects in Glendale to look good,” Agajanian said. “We have to go through the budget and see where we are wasting money.”

Agajanian said he would not list every project during the interview because the list is too long. But he said his previous council experience gives him a clear sense of where to look.

“I was there five years and four months, so I’m very familiar,” he said.

Transportation gave Agajanian another example of what he called poor decision-making.

He said the planned bus rapid transit route through Glendale has already moved too far forward for candidates to promise they can stop it entirely.

“The train is gone, and you can’t touch much,” Agajanian said.

He said the line will run through Glenoaks, Central and Broadway toward Pasadena. He said the city may still have room to adjust smaller pieces of the project, but he warned against promising residents that Glendale can simply stop it.

“There are minor things they can adjust,” he said.

Agajanian also criticized some bicycle lane decisions. He said Glendale has bike lanes in places where he rarely sees bicycles, and he said some designs create problems for drivers and emergency vehicles.

“We have bicycle lanes everywhere, and you don’t see bicycle,” he said.

He pointed to the North Brand Boulevard bike lane project. Agajanian said the city reduced Brand from two lanes to one lane to create space for bicycle travel. He said that created problems for the fire department.

“The fire department said this is wrong, but they didn’t listen to it,” Agajanian said.

He said the city later removed the bike lane and restored two lanes. He criticized the city for taking state money for a project he believes did not make sense.

“You don’t have to take the money of the state, because they offer you to improve your traffic system,” Agajanian said.

He said local leaders should reject outside funding if the project does not work for Glendale.

“You have to be reasonable,” he said. “If you can’t use it reasonably, don’t take the state’s money.”

Agajanian said the current council has made decisions that hurt the city. He said he wants to return to City Hall to reverse those mistakes.

“There are lots of projects like that that this current city council members ruined the city,” Agajanian said. “So, I have to go and correct it.”

At the end of the interview, Agajanian said he has worked in television for 26 years, seven days a week. He gave viewers his phone number and said his website would provide more information about his candidacy.

“I have been on TV for 26 years, seven days a week,” Agajanian said.

Candidate profile

Vrej Agajanian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Agajanian served on the Glendale City Council from 2017 to 2022. In the Inclusive Voices Media interview, he described himself as a licensed professional engineer in California, a longtime television broadcaster and the operator of two TV stations. He said he worked as project engineer on the San Diego Naval Medical Center and has been on television for 26 years.
Key campaign themes: Affordable housing, budget cuts before fee increases, protecting city reserves, reviewing wasteful projects, practical transportation planning and correcting decisions he says damaged Glendale.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol
Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.
In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.
All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.
Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.
All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.
Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.
The interviews air in alphabetical order.
Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.
All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dan Brotman says Glendale needs more housing.

Not because Sacramento says so.

Because people who work in Glendale should have a chance to live in Glendale. Because young people who grow up in the city should have a way to stay near their families. Because a city cannot call itself strong if the next generation has no path in.

“The important thing is to recognize that we need more housing,” Brotman said in an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian. “It’s not just the state pressuring us.”

Brotman is a Glendale City Council member and former mayor. His public biography describes him as a former economics professor, father of two and longtime public servant. He has a background in economics and finance, and his campaign identifies him as a council member focused on housing, climate, public safety, mobility and maintaining Glendale as a high-quality city.

In the interview, Brotman said he shares frustration with state housing rules that limit local control. But he said Glendale should work with lawmakers rather than spend city money on lawsuits he believes the city would likely lose.

“What the state has been doing is forcing us to do it in a one size fits all way,” Brotman said. “That’s what’s frustrating, taking away our local control.”

Brotman said some candidates want Glendale to sue the state over housing mandates. He rejected that approach.

“It’s a fool’s errand,” Brotman said. “Because we’ll just lose lots of money, we’ll lose those relationships.”

He said the better strategy is to keep lobbying Sacramento, especially as California prepares for a new governor and new state leaders. He said Glendale has already built housing and should make the case that it has acted responsibly.

“We’ve been good citizens,” Brotman said.

For Brotman, the question is not whether Glendale should grow. It is where and how.

He said denser housing makes sense downtown. He also said Glendale should encourage more mid-scale housing, including townhomes and courtyard apartments, along commercial corridors. In single-family neighborhoods, he said accessory dwelling units can add housing while fitting into the existing character of those areas.

“We want the right housing in the right place,” Brotman said.

He said Glendale also needs more ownership housing. Brotman said the average cost of a house in Glendale is about $1.4 million, making it difficult for young people to buy a home and build equity.

“How do young people get into home ownership and start to build equity?” Brotman said. “Those are things that are really important.”

Brotman tied housing growth to the city’s aging infrastructure. He said Glendale needs to invest in streets, sewers, water and energy systems. He also said climate change will make infrastructure planning more urgent as the city faces water supply challenges, extreme heat and aging roads.

“We have a lot of infrastructure investment that we have to do,” Brotman said.

On the budget, Brotman said he does not support hiring freezes, staff cuts or reductions to core services. He said Glendale has made major investments in police and fire, and he wants to protect those investments.

“I don’t believe in hiring freezes,” Brotman said. “I don’t believe in cuts to staff. I don’t want to see core services cut.”

Brotman said much of the city’s recent budget growth reflects public safety spending. He said Glendale filled fire department vacancies, filled police vacancies and added 20 new police officers to increase traffic enforcement and respond to crime.

“We’ve actually made big investments in public safety and police and fire,” Brotman said.

He said he would not reverse those investments.

“I’m not going to pull back on these investments,” Brotman said.

Brotman also said he opposes deferring maintenance and capital projects. He said delaying road repairs or infrastructure work may look like savings in the short term, but costs more later.

“That’s just a fake savings,” Brotman said. “I don’t want a city that’s deteriorating.”

He said Glendale should use technology to save money where it can. He pointed to the police department’s decision not to invest in a new helicopter because drone technology can provide some air support at a lower cost.

“There are things like that where we could save money without impacting quality of life,” Brotman said.

Still, Brotman said cost savings alone will not close Glendale’s budget gap. He said the city needs new revenue.

“We need new sources of revenue,” Brotman said.

He said the city is looking at freeway billboards, fees for delivery robots, digital kiosks, curbside electric vehicle charging and ways to generate revenue from underused parking lots. He said a new tax should remain a last resort, but the city cannot rule it out if the numbers do not work.

“That’s the last thing we want to do,” Brotman said. “But we can’t close that off, because we have to make the numbers work.”

Brotman said he does not want to balance the budget by lowering expectations for what Glendale should be.

“I don’t want to make the numbers work by downgrading the city,” he said.

On mobility, Brotman said Glendale has a serious pedestrian safety problem. He said the city ranks near the bottom among similarly sized California cities for pedestrian injuries and deaths, especially among older adults.

“We are one of the worst cities when it comes to pedestrian injuries and deaths,” Brotman said.

He said the city must slow down drivers and reduce reckless driving through both enforcement and street design.

“That is critically important,” Brotman said.

Brotman said Glendale also needs to give residents safe and convenient ways to get around without a car. He said younger people often want more options than previous generations did.

“They want to walk, they want to bike, they want to take transit,” Brotman said.

He acknowledged that safer street designs may require drivers to accept small delays. But he said that trade-off is worth it if the city truly cares about saving lives and reducing injuries.

“If we really care about safety, we’re going to have to do these things,” Brotman said. “It may take a minute longer to get where you’re going. I think that’s a worthwhile trade off.”

Brotman closed the interview by directing voters to his campaign website, DanForGlendale.com. He also gave out his personal cell phone number and said residents can text him first if they want to talk.

“I love talking to people one on one,” Brotman said.

Candidate profile

Dan Brotman
Race: Glendale City Council.
Current role: Glendale City Council member and former mayor.
Background: Brotman’s public biography describes him as a former economics professor, father of two and elected Glendale City Council member. He has a background in economics and finance.
Key campaign themes: More housing in appropriate locations, local control, public safety, infrastructure investment, safer streets, climate resilience, new revenue and protecting core city services.
Campaign website: DanForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Beth Brooks says Glendale needs to stop spending money as if every project carries the same urgency.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city should fight state housing mandates, protect single-family neighborhoods and take a much harder look at how public money moves through City Hall.

Brooks described herself as a renter on a fixed income. She said that gives her a direct stake in the city’s housing debate.

“I’m a renter,” Brooks said. “I’m actually a fixed income renter, so I have that as an unusual qualification, I suppose.”

Brooks is running for Glendale City Council after becoming a frequent speaker at City Council meetings. Her biography describes her as a Glendale resident of more than 30 years, a retired marketing research professional, a Vassar College graduate and the mother of an adult daughter. She has said her campaign centers on data-driven decisions, quality of life and removing political pressure from local government.

During the interview, Brooks said housing policy should begin with people facing the most immediate need.

“I believe in two medical precepts: triage and the Hippocratic Oath,” Brooks said. “Triage means you take care of the sickest, you know, the people suffering the most.”

She said Glendale should focus first on people who need emergency housing help, including those at risk of homelessness and those relying on housing vouchers. Brooks also said the city should examine Section 8 housing more closely because she believes fraud exists in the system.

“You help those people first,” Brooks said. “You help the homeless, you help the struggling people first.”

But Brooks rejected the idea that Glendale should solve housing pressure by allowing more density in single-family neighborhoods.

“I actually believe that you have to protect single family neighborhoods,” Brooks said. “I think that the mandate is crazy. I really do.”

Brooks said she believes the state’s housing mandate relies on faulty data and ignores local realities. She said cities should join together to challenge Sacramento.

“I believe that the state can’t determine what a city should do,” Brooks said. “I believe that the city should fight back against this mandate.”

She also warned that campaign promises about affordable housing may not match the cost of construction. Brooks said new market-rate development can push rents higher, not lower, because building costs remain high.

“If you’re going to hear a candidate who’s going to promise you affordable housing, it’s like it’s not going to happen,” Brooks said.

Brooks said Glendale should make room for smaller housing types where construction costs less, including duplexes, triplexes and smaller buildings. She also said the city needs to protect smaller landlords, not just tenants.

“You also have to protect small landlords, mom and pop landlords,” Brooks said.

She said if small landlords cannot earn enough to keep their buildings, they may sell to corporate developers. She warned that could lead to mass evictions and greater pressure on renters.

“If he can’t make a profit, he’s going to sell the building,” Brooks said. “And if he sells the building, it’s going to go to a corporate developer.”

On the city budget, Brooks said Glendale spends too freely and fails to set clear priorities. She said she attends City Council meetings every week and has done so for nearly two years.

“I go every week,” Brooks said. “I’ve been going for almost two years, and I see what they spend money on, and they just waste money.”

Brooks criticized a recent decision involving water meters. She said the city spent $25 million on new water meters when she believes it could have spent far less on human meter readers.

“That’s crazy,” Brooks said.

She said the city spends too much on what she called pet projects, contract overages and discretionary items. Brooks also criticized overtime spending and said the city should hire people at regular salaries rather than rely so heavily on overtime.

“They have a lot of overtime,” Brooks said. “They have 28% overtime, that’s crazy.”

Brooks said she wants to reset the budget around basic needs.

“I would take a sledgehammer to the budget,” Brooks said. “I would like a baseline budget where we only spend money on what we need.”

Her spending priorities include police, fire and road repairs. She said residents need safe streets, basic infrastructure and protection from rising utility costs.

“You have to have police and fire, that’s obvious,” Brooks said. “I believe that people need roads fixed.”

Brooks also said the city should rethink staffing and train employees to cover multiple roles where possible. She suggested the communications department could take on marketing tasks instead of the city spending more money elsewhere.

“Whatever you could do to not spend money, you have to make sure people are protected,” Brooks said.

Transportation came up as part of her budget answer. Brooks strongly criticized spending on bike lanes and said removing car lanes can create safety problems.

“The bike lane situation, if you’re going to discuss the bike lanes, is the biggest waste of money I have ever seen in my life,” Brooks said.

She said emergency vehicles need road space and residents need evacuation routes, especially in fire-prone areas.

“The police are not coming to your house when somebody’s breaking into your house on a bicycle,” Brooks said.

Brooks said the city should focus more on lowering utility bills for people who struggle most. She opposed some rebate programs and said money should go instead to lower-income utility customers.

“People need to have lower utility bills,” Brooks said. “People are suffering, people are really, really suffering.”

She described City Council service as more than an administrative role.

“It’s actually a moral job in many ways,” Brooks said. “This is a moral job.”

Brooks closed the interview by directing voters to her website, BethForGlendale.com. She said she also posts on Nextdoor, Instagram and Facebook, and said residents may see her walking in her neighborhood with her dog.

“I’m very opinionated,” Brooks said.

Candidate profile

Beth Brooks
Race: Glendale City Council.
Background: Brooks has lived in Glendale for more than 30 years. Her biography describes her as retired, a renter, a mother and a former marketing research professional with a bachelor’s degree in English from Vassar College.
Public role: Brooks says she attends Glendale City Council meetings regularly and became involved in local politics after a housing issue required help from the city.
Key campaign themes: Fighting state housing mandates, protecting single-family neighborhoods, cutting city spending, reducing waste, focusing on basic services, lowering utility costs and protecting quality of life.
Campaign website: BethForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dr. Carolyn Kaloostian says Glendale needs choices.

Choices in housing.

Choices in transportation.

Choices in how the city spends money.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said the city cannot ignore state housing mandates. But she said Glendale should meet those requirements in a way that protects neighborhoods, supports residents and keeps the city’s character intact.

“It is a serious issue here, and I think we need to have options,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian is a physician and professor at Keck Medicine of USC. She described her work in family medicine and geriatrics as a model for how she would approach city government. She said the job requires balance, options and attention to the whole person. She said she would bring the same approach to Glendale City Hall.

“As I do it in my practice in family medicine and geriatrics, it’s an art,” Kaloostian said. “You have to have options for the residents.”

Housing took up the first part of the interview.

Kaloostian said Glendale residents have a right to worry about traffic, infrastructure and the size of new developments. She said the city has seen too many large, high-density apartment projects with limited parking.

“What I’ve been seeing is we’re doing huge high-density housing apartments with not a lot of parking, and we have a right to be concerned about the infrastructure and the traffic,” Kaloostian said.

She said Glendale should look first at older apartment buildings that already have rent caps. Kaloostian said the city could encourage owners to renovate those buildings, modernize utilities and keep housing costs lower.

“My recommendation, and what I’ll support, is to really improve and incentivize the renovation of our older charming buildings, where they have rental caps,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian also pointed to adaptive reuse as another path. She said Glendale could convert underused commercial buildings into condominiums, especially as work patterns have changed since the pandemic.

“We can actually convert them to condominiums, and I think that would be great,” Kaloostian said.

She said that kind of housing could give residents a path to ownership. Kaloostian said she bought a small condo before later purchasing a home, and she wants more Glendale residents to have that same kind of entry point.

“My hope is we can provide equity to our residents,” Kaloostian said.

On state mandates, Kaloostian said the city has limited room to refuse what California requires. She said Glendale must comply or risk losing control over its own planning decisions.

“There’s very little you could do about what’s being mandated,” Kaloostian said. “Mandates are, we have to follow them.”

Still, she said compliance does not require a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We can’t just do the same cookie cutter, what everyone does,” Kaloostian said.

Budget pressure formed the second major part of the interview.

Kaloostian said Glendale needs a deeper review of how it spends public money. She said the city’s budget has grown from about $800 million to about $1.2 billion and said residents deserve a clearer explanation of where that money goes.

“We need to really look with a fine tooth comb, maybe with a forensic analysis,” Kaloostian said. “Where is this money going?”

Kaloostian said the city needs better auditing and more careful spending decisions before asking residents to pay more. She said she opposes new taxes.

“I’m against all new taxes,” Kaloostian said. “We need to build revenue.”

She said public safety would rank as one of her top priorities. She also said the fires in Altadena showed the importance of water security.

“After the fires, after what we saw in Altadena, we need to have water security,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian said Glendale has enough water but needs to capture it better. She said grants could help pay for that work. She also said water could become a revenue source if Glendale supplies neighboring cities.

“Glendale has plenty of water,” Kaloostian said. “We just need to capture it.”

On transportation, Kaloostian said Glendale should improve mobility but should not simply copy other cities. She said the city needs creative options that fit its own scale, charm and business districts.

“Just because a bus rapid transit is what other cities prefer doesn’t mean our city or town needs that,” Kaloostian said.

She floated the idea of a solar electric vintage trolley. She said a trolley could improve mobility while connecting business districts and supporting local commerce.

“How about a solar electric vintage trolley, which will connect not only help the mobility issue, but it will connect our business districts to each other,” Kaloostian said.

Kaloostian said the trolley concept could also serve older residents and families.

“Senior friendly, family friendly,” she said.

When asked whether pedestrians, bicyclists or drivers should receive top consideration, Kaloostian again returned to the idea of balance. She said city planning should not elevate one group at the expense of everyone else.

“There isn’t one priority,” Kaloostian said. “Everyone’s important.”

She compared the issue to medicine, saying a doctor cannot prioritize one part of the body while ignoring the rest.

“I don’t put your heart over your brain, over your skin or the acute issues that brought you in today,” Kaloostian said. “They’re all important.”

Kalustian also said she wants to support small businesses directly. She said she would donate her City Council salary and hopes other council members would consider contributing as well.

“I don’t want any city money,” Kaloostian said. “I want to make sure that we put that back into small businesses.”

She said that money could help businesses improve storefronts, add lighting and strengthen commercial corridors.

Kaloostian closed the interview by saying she wants her campaign and potential service on the council to reflect teamwork.

“I’m really hoping I’ll be one of your voices, one of your voices and votes for Glendale City Council,” Kaloostian said.

She directed voters to her campaign website, DrKForGlendale.com, and said she wants the city’s next decisions to come through collaboration.

“I really want to make sure that it’s a collaborative effort, whatever we do,” Kaloostian said.

Candidate profile

Dr. Carolyn Kalustian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Profession: Physician and professor at Keck Medicine of USC.
Public service approach: Kalustian says her background in family medicine and geriatrics shapes how she would approach city issues. She emphasizes balance, options, collaboration and practical solutions.
Key campaign themes: Housing options, adaptive reuse, renovation of older buildings, opposition to new taxes, stronger audits, public safety, water security, small business support and a mobility plan that fits Glendale.
Campaign website: DrKForGlendale.com.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Dr. Alex Balekian says Glendale needs to draw a sharper line between the housing Sacramento wants and the housing many local residents want.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, the Glendale City Council candidate said state housing mandates could threaten single-family neighborhoods, small businesses and local control unless the city pushes back.

“First, let’s discuss the kind of housing that the state wants, and then the kind of housing that people want, because those two are not the same thing,” Balekian said.

Balekian, a physician who asks voters to call him “Dr. Alex,” is running for Glendale City Council in the June 2, 2026, election. His campaign biography describes him as a lifelong Glendale resident who grew up in the city, attended local public schools and built his life and career there. His campaign also identifies him as a practicing doctor and former 2024 congressional candidate.

In the interview, Balekian said his campaign centers on three priorities: cracking down on reckless drivers, lowering electricity rates and limiting dense housing near single-family neighborhoods and small business parking lots.

“The three reasons that I’m running for city council are to crack down on reckless drivers, to lower electricity rates, and to limit dense housing away from single-family neighborhoods and away from small business parking lots,” Balekian said.

Housing dominated the first part of the interview.

Balekian said state leaders and real estate interests focus too much on unit counts. He argued that Glendale residents want more ownership opportunities, especially entry-level homes and condos that allow families to build equity.

“You have what people here on the ground want,” Balekian said. “People here on the ground want entry level homes, a condo that they can move into, something that they can own, something that will be able to be passed down to their children.”

Balekian said the city should look at areas outside established single-family neighborhoods for new housing. He pointed to the San Fernando corridor, from the Metrolink station north toward Golden Road, as a place where Glendale could support new condos without disrupting existing residential areas.

“There are a lot of opportunities, I think, to build condos there, develop entry-level affordable homes for people to purchase as their first home in an area where there is not an existing single family neighborhood that will be in danger,” Balekian said.

He strongly criticized SB 79, which he said could override local zoning near high-quality transit stops. He said the law puts “a target” on Glendale because of the planned Bus Rapid Transit line.

Balekian said the city should sue L.A. Metro to remove Glendale from the BRT plan, or at least prevent BRT stops from triggering state housing rules inside the city.

“I’m not saying don’t allow the bus to go through Glendale,” Balekian said. “I’m simply saying don’t allow it to stop in Glendale, so we can actually activate the Glendale B line to shuttle people to the nearest bus stop in Burbank and also in Eagle Rock, without putting a target on our backs.”

Balekian also said Glendale needs to make its own building rules easier to understand. He said local codes have become too complicated and discourage smaller builders from working in the city.

“What we really need to do is take that entire code, simplify it using AI, just make it very, very simple, get rid of all the repetitive, esoteric stuff,” Balekian said.

On the budget, Balekian said the city should start by reducing overtime. He said his professional experience managing physician groups and staffing a hospital gives him experience with workforce scheduling and cost control.

“I manage two physician groups, and I staff a hospital, and I make sure that we have the appropriate ratio of doctors to patients,” Balekian said.

He said overtime across city departments reflects inefficient staffing and deployment.

“All of these overtime expenses that we have, they are inefficient deployment of our existing workforce,” Balekian said.

Balekian said the city should review how employees are scheduled and whether departments can use staff more efficiently before cutting services. He described overtime reduction as “the lowest hanging fruit.”

He also tied budget decisions back to his housing and transit position. Balekian said Glendale could direct the City Attorney’s Office to challenge the BRT plan because the city did not agree to the project under the current housing rules.

“The goal posts have been moved since we agreed to it,” Balekian said.

Transportation brought Balekian back to one of his sharpest campaign themes: reckless driving.

He said Glendale should prioritize how people actually move through the city. He said many residents drive out of necessity, while he believes most people in Glendale bike for recreation.

“People in Glendale don’t bike to work, they bike for leisure,” Balekian said. “People drive out of necessity, so we need to prioritize necessity over leisure.”

Balekian said he does not oppose transit, but he opposes removing traffic lanes for dedicated bus lanes on corridors such as Glenoaks, Central and Broadway. He said reducing lanes would push cars into nearby neighborhoods and create new safety problems.

“If you replace the car lanes with bus lanes, you displace that traffic one block north and one block south,” Balekian said.

He said streets such as Glenwood Road could turn into cut-through routes, creating more danger for children and families.

Balekian said the city should first focus on dangerous drivers before expanding discussions about bike lanes or other street changes.

“We need to crack down on those reckless drivers,” Balekian said.

He called for motorcycle officers and larger fines for reckless driving.

“Once you get those reckless drivers to slow the hell down, then you can say, okay, more people are going to ride their bikes, more people are going to walk,” Balekian said.

Balekian ended the interview by directing voters to his campaign website, VoteDrAlex.com.

Candidate profile

Alex Balekian
Race: Glendale City Council.
Election: June 2, 2026.
Profession: Physician.
Background: Balekian’s campaign biography describes him as a lifelong Glendale resident who grew up in the city, attended local public schools and built his life and career there. His campaign also identifies him as a former 2024 congressional candidate.
Key campaign themes: Reckless driving, electricity rates, local control, opposition to dense housing near single-family neighborhoods and small business parking lots, and withdrawal from the BRT plan.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview.

All candidates were invited and given the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview was limited to 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means they were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate was asked the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance.

The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

Alek Bartrosouf says Glendale can grow without losing itself.

The Glendale City Council candidate says the city needs more housing. But he says that housing should go where it makes the most sense: near transit, near jobs and in places where people can get around without relying on a car.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian, Bartrosouf said Glendale must respond to state housing mandates while protecting quality of life for residents.

“We need to strike a balance,” Bartrosouf said. “We need to understand how state mandates affect our city, but also understanding that we do play a part in adding more housing per state laws and making sure that we’re doing it responsibly and doing it in a smart way.”

Bartrosouf is running for Glendale City Council in the June 2, 2026, municipal election. The city’s election page lists him as a qualified Glendale City Council candidate. Ballotpedia lists Bartrosouf as a nonpartisan candidate for Glendale City Council At-Large and identifies his profession as city planner.

Bartrosouf told Inclusive Voices Media he studied urban planning at UCLA and has worked as a planning professional for more than 10 years. He said that background shapes how he looks at land use, zoning and housing in Glendale.

“I’m an urban planner,” Bartrosouf said. “I studied urban planning at UCLA. I’ve been planning professional for over 10 years, so I know a little bit about land use, zoning, and housing issues here in Glendale.”

His campaign website describes his platform as focused on affordable housing, better infrastructure and transparent government. Ballotpedia says he graduated from Glendale Community College, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA, and that he completed its candidate survey in 2026.

On housing, Bartrosouf said Glendale should steer new development toward areas where residents have more transportation options. He pointed to downtown Glendale, the Metrolink station in South Glendale and the Tropico neighborhood as places where new residential units could make sense.

“I’d like to see more development in downtown Glendale, particularly near the Metrolink station in South Glendale, in the Tropico neighborhood,” Bartrosouf said.

He said that approach could help limit traffic and reduce pressure on city resources by placing housing where residents can walk, bike, take transit or make shorter trips.

“If we’re talking about concerns about congestion, concerns about strain on our resources, our limited resources here in Glendale, we want to focus that development in places where it makes the most sense,” Bartrosouf said.

On the city budget, Bartrosouf did not name specific programs he would cut. Instead, he said Glendale should open the process to more residents before making difficult decisions.

He said city budget sessions now happen during the day, when many residents cannot watch or participate. He said that limits public input on decisions that affect services, staffing and spending priorities.

“What I’d like to see moving forward is making sure that the community is brought into those discussions and is able to chime in and learn, you know, where is the money coming from? Where is the money going?” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf said his campaign platform includes participatory budgeting, a process that gives residents a more direct role in shaping public spending priorities.

“I’m not here to declare very specific things that I think we can cut,” Bartrosouf said. “I think that’s a community decision that needs to be made out in the open in a transparent way.”

He said public safety remains a core priority. Bartrosouf said Glendale residents value the level of police and fire service the city provides, and he said that investment helps explain the city’s safety record.

“Police and fire, as has always been, a top priority,” Bartrosouf said. “Public safety is — people are very satisfied and happy with the quality of public safety that we provide to our residents.”

He said he wants to maintain public safety funding, and possibly expand it, while still confronting the city’s projected budget challenges.

Bartrosouf said Glendale faces a structural deficit in future years and must talk openly about reductions, services and revenue.

“We need to have those honest discussions about where we can find cost savings,” Bartrosouf said.

Transportation and street safety formed the center of Bartrosouf’s final answer. He said he has served two terms on Glendale’s Transportation and Parking Commission and took part in work around the city’s pedestrian master plan.

“As a transportation planner, I know all too well the safety issues of the city of Glendale,” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf said Glendale has a serious pedestrian safety problem. He said cities of Glendale’s size in California rank Glendale worst for collisions involving older pedestrians.

“We rank the worst when it comes to collisions involving elderly pedestrians,” Bartrosouf said.

He said the city can use grant funding and outside money from state, county and Metro sources to make safety improvements. He also said Glendale needs more transportation choices as it grows.

“We owe it to ourselves to have a diverse set of options,” Bartrosouf said. “Options for people to get around, that includes walking, biking, taking transit, and for people to drive, obviously, as well.”

Bartrosouf said the city should not treat every street the same. He said planning decisions should depend on location and need. Downtown Glendale may call for more pedestrian-focused improvements, he said, while canyon areas may require stronger access for cars and emergency evacuations.

“I think it’s context specific,” Bartrosouf said. “I can’t speak in general terms.”

Still, he said safety should guide the city’s approach.

“There is an overarching theme, and has been confirmed through community surveys, that safety is the top priority for many Glendale residents,” Bartrosouf said.

Bartrosouf closed the interview by saying he wants a City Hall that works more openly with residents.

“I want to make sure that we are transparent and open and working with the community to make sure we’re addressing their needs,” Bartrosouf said.

Candidate profile box

Alek Bartrosouf
Race: Glendale City Council At-Large.
Election: June 2, 2026.
Profession: City planner.
Education: Glendale Community College, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA.
Campaign site: AlekForGlendale.com.
Key campaign themes: Affordable housing, safer streets, better infrastructure, participatory budgeting and transparent government.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.
Election status: Glendale’s election page lists Bartrosouf as a qualified candidate for City Council.

Box 1: Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment for all candidates, Inclusive Voices Media followed the same protocol for every interview. All candidates received an invitation and had the opportunity to select a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview ran 10 minutes.

All interviews were conducted live-to-tape. That means the interviews were recorded continuously without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate received the same questions. No candidate received the questions in advance. The interviews air in alphabetical order.

Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to provide voters with a fair, transparent and consistent platform so they can hear directly from the candidates and make an informed decision at the ballot box.

All candidates were reached and given the same opportunity. All but one candidate participated.

In an interview conducted by Inclusive Voices Media’s Silva Harapetian as part of the IVM’s Glendale City Council candidate series, Murphy framed his campaign around three main issues: local control over development, tighter city spending and public safety.

“I have said in the past, and will continue to say, that we do not have necessarily a housing crisis,” Murphy said. “We have an affordable housing crisis.”

Murphy is running for one of three at-large seats on the Glendale City Council in the June 2, 2026, election. His campaign site describes him as a businessman with decades of experience in commercial real estate, retail expansion and property revitalization. The site says Murphy moved from New York City to Burbank in 1985 and later made Glendale his home with his wife, Genae. It also says he spent four decades working with property owners, retailers and community stakeholders, and served for five years as a vice president with Leslie’s Pool Supplies, where he helped open 250 stores nationwide.

Murphy’s campaign says he wants to bring private-sector experience to City Hall, with a focus on responsible growth, business districts, community services, transparency and financial sustainability.

Much of his interview focused on housing mandates from Sacramento and how they could affect Glendale neighborhoods.

Murphy criticized Senate Bill 79, a California housing law tied to development near transit stops. He said the law, when paired with the proposed bus rapid transit line, could reshape parts of Glendale by allowing taller apartment buildings near dedicated bus lanes.

“This has created an existential threat to our entire city,” Murphy said.

He argued that the city should preserve single-family neighborhoods and challenge state policies that override local zoning. Murphy said Glendale should have joined Burbank in asking Metro for a supplemental environmental review of the bus rapid transit project in light of SB 79.

“We should send a letter, and we should join Burbank, and we should push back on Metro,” Murphy said.

Murphy also said Glendale should work with other cities to resist unfunded state mandates. He said Sacramento has pushed requirements onto cities without providing enough money for infrastructure, including police, fire, sewer, water and electricity.

“We have a problem with Sacramento,” Murphy said. “They’re pushing down these mandates upon us.”

On city finances, Murphy said Glendale’s budget grew too quickly in recent years. He said the city budget increased from $840 million in 2020 to $1.3 billion in 2024. He compared that increase to inflation during the same period and said the growth shows a lack of budget discipline.

“It’s a problem,” Murphy said.

Murphy singled out overtime spending as one area that deserves closer review. He said the city had a $3.4 million line-item increase in overtime, which he described as a 28 percent jump.

“I don’t know any business that budgets for a 28% increase in overtime,” Murphy said.

He also criticized the North Brand Boulevard demonstration project, saying it cost $1.8 million and another $527,000 to remove. Murphy said the city should have rebid the removal work.

“That’s outrageous,” Murphy said. “That’s absolutely outrageous.”

In written responses to the Glendale Association of Realtors candidate questionnaire, Murphy also identified overtime as the first budget category he would seek to reduce. He wrote that the city’s 2025-26 budget included a 28 percent increase in overtime and called for reviews of salaries, transfers from other funds, the city attorney’s office and spending on projects such as North Brand Boulevard.

Still, Murphy said he would protect public safety spending. He said the police department is doing well and is nearing Project 300, a staffing goal of 300 sworn officers. He said Glendale has 270 sworn officers and described the city as safe.

“Our city is safe,” Murphy said.

Murphy said traffic enforcement is improving. He said he spoke with Police Chief Manuel Cid and learned traffic citations in the first quarter of this year rose about 20 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025.

“He’s putting his policies in front of the rank and file, and they are responding,” Murphy said.

Murphy said the fire department needs more attention.

“The fire department needs help, and we need to start paying attention to the fire department,” Murphy said.

On transportation, Murphy said he does not oppose protected bike lanes in general. But he said they need to go on the right streets and only where neighborhoods support them.

“I am not opposed to protected bicycle lanes on the appropriate streets where the neighborhood is in favor of it,” Murphy said.

He said the North Brand project created safety and congestion problems. He argued that protected bike lanes should come off commercial corridors and move to residential streets where he believes they would create fewer conflicts with driveways, businesses and emergency vehicles.

“Take them off of commercial corridors, put them on residential streets where they’re safer,” Murphy said.

Murphy’s written questionnaire answers make a similar point. He wrote that he opposes removing vehicle lanes to create bike-only lanes and suggested looking at nearby residential streets, including Louise Street, as alternatives for protected bike lanes.

The interview ended with Murphy directing voters to his campaign website and giving out his phone number. He said residents could contact him about any Glendale issue.

“I’m happy to speak with anyone about any issue associated with Glendale,” Murphy said.

Candidate profile box

Patrick Murphy
Race: Glendale City Council
Election: June 2, 2026
Campaign site: PatrickMurphyForGlendale.com
Professional background: Businessman with decades of experience in commercial retail properties, local economies, construction, budgeting and entitlement work. His campaign site says he helped open 250 stores nationwide during his time as a vice president with Leslie’s Pool Supplies.
Key campaign themes: Fiscal responsibility, public safety, local control, neighborhood preservation, business revitalization and transparency.
Interviewed by: Silva Harapetian, Inclusive Voices Media.

Inclusive Voices Media candidate interview protocol

Inclusive Voices Media has interviewed all but one of the Glendale City Council candidates.

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment, the same protocol applied to every candidate. All candidates received an invitation and had the opportunity to choose a time slot on the same interview day.

Each interview ran 10 minutes. The interviews were recorded live-to-tape. That means the recording continued without stopping, editing, retakes or do-overs.

Each candidate received the same questions and did not receive the questions in advance. Inclusive Voices Media says its goal is to give voters a fair, transparent and consistent way to hear directly from the candidates before they cast a ballot. The interviews air in alphabetical order.

GLENDALE, Calif. — Alta / A Human Atlas of a City of Angels begins with a face. Then it gives that face a voice.

The exhibition, now at ReflectSpace inside Glendale Central Library, brings together portraits, oral histories and ancestral DNA to tell a broader story about Los Angeles. The project features 100 Angelenos who have made an impact across Los Angeles County. It is on view May 9 through July 12, 2026.

Artist Marcus Lyon created the project in collaboration with the Getty Conservation Institute. ReflectSpace says the exhibition uses personal narratives, portraiture and DNA data to explore migration, belonging and the changing human story of Los Angeles.

For Lyon, the project grew out of a frustration with traditional portraiture.

“I’ve been taking portraits all my life,” Lyon said. “But I was frustrated by how a portrait was the chapel of the viewer, that the audience took control of the narrative. So I decided I wanted to build a deeper project based on portraiture where the portrait sitters got a chance to tell their stories.”

He calls the project a human atlas. Not a map of streets. A map of lives.

The work connects art, science and storytelling. It also asks a civic question. Who builds a city? And who gets remembered?

“What we like to say about Human Atlas is that it’s an opportunity to change the future, to move the needle through art, science and storytelling,” Lyon said.

One of the people featured in the project is Marco Vargas. His work focuses on education technology and expanding access to emerging tools for young people.

For Vargas, the exhibition did more than place his portrait on a wall. It connected him to his family history. It also connected him to other people working to change Los Angeles.

“This project has really helped me better understand how connected we are as social change makers,” Vargas said. “I had an idea my family’s from Guatemala and migrated here to the United States. But I was very excited to see my Indigenous roots.”

Vargas said the project now lives inside his own educational work. He has used some of the profiles to create immersive virtual reality learning experiences.

“One of the awesome things that I was able to do with the Humanness Project is I turned some of the profiles into immersive learning experiences in virtual reality,” Vargas said.

The exhibition is part of the broader Human Atlas platform and was created as a social impact art project. The Alta project is also available in book, podcast, app and digital formats.

Lyon said the stories changed him too.

“If you are the product of every story that you’ve been told, then when you speak, you speak as a multitude,” he said. “Their gift is wisdom that I can take into my own life.”

Alta is about Los Angeles. But it is also about belonging. The people in the portraits come from different histories, families and parts of the world. Together, they tell one story.

A city is not just a place. It is the people who keep giving it meaning.

The Canoga Park school said its students competed in eight events in the small school category against teams from Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Alaska, Idaho and Wisconsin. The United States Academic Decathlon listed the 2026 national results and separate online competition categories for large, medium and small schools.

For the students, the win reaches beyond medals and test scores.

“I think I can say that we all feel proud as a team to be able to represent the Armenian community at a national level,” senior Sevag Markarian said.

Markarian said he and teammate Sevag Vakian joined Academic Decathlon as freshmen. Four years later, they leave with a national title. He said the team had already felt proud last year when it advanced to state competition. This year, the students went further.

The competition tests students across a wide range of academic subjects. The United States Academic Decathlon says the program covers 10 categories: art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, mathematics, music, science, social science and speech. Students take multiple choice tests, write essays, deliver speeches and sit for interviews.

Vakian described the contest as a mix of school subjects, public speaking and disciplined study.

“Academic Decathlon is 10 subjects, including speech, interview, math, science, social science, art, music, basically the whole range of subjects you might learn in school and you might not,” Vakian said.

He said some study guides run about 100 pages and the questions can go deep into details most students would never encounter in a regular class.

At nationals, he said, the pressure shifts heavily to multiple choice testing.

“Every sentence matters,” Vakian said. “You might have to know what the price of soybeans were in 1928. Very random information. You kind of just have to know it.”

That kind of preparation shaped the team’s season.

Markarian said students spent part of winter break at school, studying in their coach’s room and preparing for the competition. He said the team covered concepts that younger students may not have studied yet in their regular courses, including economics topics usually taught to seniors.

“This year is the most amount of work we’ve ever put into it, and I think it really paid off,” Markarian said.

The school said several students earned individual medals. Andrew Gharibian won medals in essay, art, economics, science, social science and music. Sevag Markarian won silver in economics. Sevag Vakian won silver medals in essay, art and math and bronze in economics. John Mazedzhyan, Bedros Oruncakciel, Mateos Celik and Mina Kajoukian also earned medals. The school said Isabella Shagmirian and Ani Tokadzhyan made significant score contributions.

The school also said Gharibian, Vakian and Mazedzhyan placed first, second and third among all competitors.

The students’ reaction showed how much the title meant. The trophy became more than hardware. It marked a rare academic victory that students could celebrate the way other schools celebrate championships in sports.

For seniors, the win also arrives at a turning point.

Markarian said Academic Decathlon teaches students how to pace themselves, study difficult subjects and teach themselves new ideas. He said those skills will follow them into college and future jobs.

The speech and interview sections also changed the way students carry themselves.

“That’s public speaking skills that we may not have learned in a traditional classroom setting that Academic Decathlon made possible,” Markarian said.

For AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, the national title gives the campus a new academic milestone. For the students, it gives them something simpler and harder to measure.

They studied. They stayed with it. They won.

In a new Inclusive Voices interview with Tamar Kevonian, Zada talks about the path that took him from childhood cooking to culinary school, Armenian food, bow hunting, cookbook writing and a new Food Network competition.

Zada, a Los Angeles born chef, author, TV personality and content creator, says food entered his life early. His official biography says he trained at Le Cordon Bleu and built a career exploring different cultures through food.

In the interview, Zada says he started cooking around age five because he wanted to play with knives. His mother gave him a condition. He could only touch a knife if he cooked. So, he started cutting salads and kept cutting until everything turned into something like Shirazi salad.

“I like sharp things,” Zada said.

The conversation also moves into bow hunting, which Zada describes as part of a larger “field to plate” approach. He says he likes to harvest his own meat and feed his family natural, free-range food. He tells Kevonian that archery became a passion after he picked up a bow, bought one the next day and never put it down.

His route to professional cooking did not follow a straight line.

Zada says he first chased music. Then he worked in the family printing business, which made pharmaceutical labels. He says the business offered stability, but not joy. Cooking became the thing he did to decompress after work. He eventually chose culinary school, even though his grandfather pushed back and reminded him that the family already had a profitable business.

“I want to cook,” Zada recalled saying.

That decision led to a broad culinary career. Zada says he received French training but became widely known for Armenian and Middle Eastern food. He calls food both craft and art, and describes it as something meant to be consumed, shared and enjoyed.

“It’s an art form that can be consumed and brought joy,” he said.

That spirit also shapes Lavash, the cookbook Zada co-authored with food writer Kate Leahy and photographer John Lee. The book’s official site describes Lavash as a cookbook that begins with Armenia’s signature bread and expands into soups, stews, grilled meats, vegetables and desserts, with essays and photography that show modern Armenia.

Zada tells Kevonian the team traveled to Armenia and collected recipes village by village. He says that choice helped them avoid presenting one diaspora version of Armenian food as the only version. Instead, they focused on food made in Armenia.

Zada is also one of the chefs competing on Chopped Castaways. Food Network says the series premiered Tuesday, May 12, at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, with chefs using cooking skills and survival instincts to handle mystery basket ingredients.

Zada tells Kevonian he believes he can compete.

“I definitely have the skills to win this competition,” he said. “I have the agility, the mental toughness.

”

GLENDALE, Calif. -- A free beatbox class on Artsakh Avenue gave young people a chance to try something new, make some noise and learn a little more about hip hop culture in the middle of downtown Glendale.

The workshop took place at the No Easy Props Pop Up Shop and Studio, a hip hop arts space at 117 North Artsakh Avenue. The event brought students together with Middle School Beatbox Crew for a hands-on class that covered basic sounds, rhythm and a first group composition.

The event showed how Artsakh Avenue has become more than a walkway between storefronts. It has become a public space for art, culture and community programming.

“What’s great about being on Artsakh Avenue is that a lot of these stores have arts and culture,” said Silva Harapetian, journalist and founder of Inclusive Voices Media, also located on Artsakh Avenue. “That’s what they’re trying to promote. And there’s events happening here, and it’s free to the public all the time.”

The class came through Glendale’s Artsakh Creative program, a city backed pop up accelerator that offers short term use of city owned commercial space along Artsakh Paseo. The program supports artists, makers, performers, creative businesses and entrepreneurs who can bring arts related uses and public programming to the district.

No Easy Props joined the program as a hip hop studio and retail space. The organization offers classes, youth and adult workshops, open sessions and a shop with custom clothing, shoes, accessories, vinyl collectibles and vintage hip hop styles.

At the workshop, Asia One, curator of No Easy Props, welcomed the crowd with the energy of someone who sees the space as both a classroom and a home base.

“My name is Asia One, and I am the curator of No Easy Props,” she said. “We’re a hip hop arts organization, and we’re at our shop, the NEP pop up shop.”

She called the gathering “a great opportunity” and said the moment felt “like international Hip Hop day.”

One instructor told the students they would leave with a real skill, not just a quick demonstration.

“Today you will learn a few sounds,” he said. “You will learn basic rhythm, hip hop rhythm, and we will make our very first composition together.”

He said students could already beatbox by the time they left the shop.

Another instructor introduced himself as Tim from Belgium, a professional beatboxer who goes by the name Pochi. He said the workshop gave children a chance to learn through joy, effort and each other.

“You see kids trying to do their best in a joyful way and learning from each other,” he said. “They can hear other people beatboxing too. They’re like, hey, we can do this too.”

The workshop featured world beatbox champions Supernova and FootboxG, known together as Middle School. They guided participants through basic beatbox skills and helped turn the room into a shared learning space.

The workshop also reflected the broader mission of No Easy Props. The organization’s programs bring hip hop arts education to young people and communities across Los Angeles County through after school programs, teen mentorship, workshops, performances and family events.

Asia One said that kind of space matters because artists need places to practice and present their work.

“That’s something that’s really important,” she said. “There’s those spaces where we just come together and get a place to practice our art forms and then showcase them.”

She said hip hop teaches more than performance.

“It’s important,” she said. “I got to show up, and I got to try hard. I got to work hard.”

Then she connected that lesson to everyday life.

“All that stuff in hip hop kind of distills down to every other area in your life,” she said. “Whether you’re a parent, whether you’re a teacher, whether you’re in your job, but in life, you got to show up, you got to work hard.”

That message gave the class its point. The students learned sounds. They built rhythm. They performed together. But the bigger lesson came through the act of trying in public, with other people listening and joining in.

On Artsakh Avenue, that may be the real promise of the program. A storefront becomes a studio. A lesson becomes a performance. A group of young people discovers that culture does not only belong on a stage.

Sometimes it starts with one sound, then another, then the courage to keep going.

# # #

GLENDALE, Calif. — Bek Ortikov starts every arrangement with the same basic question.

What does the person want to feel?

Inside Bek’s Flowers on North Artsakh Avenue in Glendale, the answer usually comes thr…

Read more

Not only is it a day of remembrance in Armenia but also for millions across the world–including one of the largest diaspora communities right here in Glendale.

The community gathered to remember the past and recognize those advocating for justice.

This April 24th, The Truth and Accountability League honored several people who are actively doing the work.

Congresswoman Judy Chu was honored for her continued efforts to speak out on Armenian issues, including the 2020 Nagorno-Karabagh war, a conflict that left thousands dead and displaced thousands of Armenians from their indigenous land.

“We must all commit to ensuring that this atrocity never happens again, and that means i will always write in congress to support Armenia–and the Armenian-American people, said Congresswoman Chu to a room full of attendees at the Central Library in Glendale.

Chu is one of the few members of congress to have visited Artsakh, an experience she says left a lasting impression of the community’s resilience and unity. “That organization and passion has to be there when there are terrible things that occur–such as when Dr. Oz went to the Armenian bakery and was accusing basically the whole Armenian community of being fraudulent. That’s not right. That’s stereotypical. That’s hateful. That’s not right.”

Congresswoman Laura Freidman was also honored. She said, “from the very start, the Armenian community here, which by the way is everywhere here. It’s my neighbors, it’s my friends, it’s my child’s friend in school, has been the most vibrant, amazing, welcoming, wonderful lovely community that its so hard for me to imagine what Glendale would be like without the Armenian community here.”

In 2020 Azerbaijan backed by Turkey used drones and white phosphorus to attack the Armenian population in Artsakh killing and injuring thousands. A nine month blockade followed causing severe food and utility shortage forcing 120 thousand people – almost the entire population in the region – to flee.

Human rights organizations called the displacement of the Armenians from their ancestral land – ethnic cleansing. This was followed by Azerbaijan taking prisoners of war and holding sham trials.

Friedman said, “I along with my colleague Judy Chu demanded the release of all remaining Armenian POW’s, and the fact that there still are prisoners of war being held by Azerbaijan is something we cannot rest until it is remedied.”

Journalist Ana Kasparian was also honored. While many talked about rememberance, Kasparian pointed out that global conflicts around the world don’t happen in a vacuum. Her speech offered a more direct and critical perspective demanding present-day accountability.

“The majority of the weapons used against the Armenian people were supplied by Israel.” She added, “I’d like to use this opportunity to expose the ongoing persecution that Armenians and many others face today with the funding and gleeful support from the United States government.’’

She points to the global dimensions of the conflict and the role of international powers saying, “when the weapons that Israel has are funded and supplied by the american people thanks to our government that’s a big problem, and it’s time we hold our lawmakers accountable for that”

Also honored at the event was … former West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne– and artist Arpi Krikorian.