Vrej Agajanian says Glendale should cut waste before raising fees
In an Inclusive Voices Media interview, Agajanian said affordable housing, budget discipline and practical transportation decisions should guide Glendale’s next City Council
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.