Reader: Vartanian is best-qualified for clerk
This past week, my family received several promotional fliers for
city clerk and City Council candidates. Seeing as the elections are
fast approaching, we decided now would be a good time to start
researching for ourselves just who is running for the highly coveted
city clerk position. Because we are all being bombarded by biased
election brochures, we feel it is important to do our own independent
homework.
As I understand it, the position of city clerk is not in nature a
political position, like that of City Council. Rather, the
responsibilities are mostly administrative and financial. These
include handling city permits and licenses, managing a million-dollar
budget and managing official city records. This said, it is best to
place your vote for the most professionally qualified, not the most
politically savvy nor those with the most cash in their pockets.
First off, education should be of great importance in this
position. Just as most executive jobs in the private sector require
one to have higher education, city clerk should be no different. The
clerk manages an office of 11 and oversees many of our community's
official transactions. Just as one would not hire someone with less
than a college degree to work in an executive capacity, we should not
elect someone with a weak educational background to manage Glendale's
city clerk's office.
Secondly, extensive professional experience is very desirable,
particularly in the private sector. The ladder to professional
leadership has many rungs. One does not go from being the cashier at
Wal-Mart to being the chief financial officer of Wal-Mart. Likewise,
the manager of the city clerk's office should be someone who has
extensive administrative and financial credentials, and has worked in
several business environments.
Lastly, it is in the best interest of Glendale residents that the
city clerk have little political motivation or ties. This information
can be derived from one's previous political history as well as
future intentions as represented in their campaign statements. Having
political motivations could grossly skew equal treatment of all
Glendale residents.
Although it may be better suited as an appointed position,
Glendale is among the minority of cities that elect their city clerk.
Seeing as an election requires a campaign process, it is all too easy
to lose sight of the important characteristics of a candidate. The
lawn signs, the flashy fliers and the savvy commercials can all be
