Paul Krekorian and campaign reform

When someone runs for councilman, his valued proposition should be to serve the community. In my opinion, he should state what his objectives are and how we should evaluate his promises and his performance through clear outcomes in his four years in office.

But today we don't have those values and it shows all too clearly at council sessions. Concerned residents come in droves from neighborhoods alarmed by the slightest rumors. They've seen the duplicity, false promises and surprise notifications when new construction or zoning changes seem to come out of nowhere.

They've lost all trust in our current City Council. Councilman Frank Quintero's actions as a councilman and the conduct of his Assembly campaign was only the most salient example of how low our election process and the conduct of our elected officials has become.

When someone runs for City Council, as Quintero has done, seemingly as only a steppingstone to another office, he breaks his contract. He denies a good man an opportunity to serve and shows that his word cannot be trusted

When Quintero said that he promoted women's issues but failed to hold the Police Department accountable for the sexual harassment that costs our city more than $3 million, we can be sure that our workplace conditions will continue to be abusive.

We now know Quintero will say anything to get your vote.

When Quintero accepted campaign contributions from the Glendale Police Officers Assn., he never asked for any accountability measures from them. Instead, he increased their numbers without any tangible justification to create on his campaign literature his pro-safety image.

It did not matter that budget deficits will continue to get worse.

Fiscal irresponsibility for the sake of political endorsements translates into increased electricity rates for all of us.

When campaign mailers claimed that the Armenian National Committee was linked to a terrorist organization and thereby suggested that Quintero's opponent was linked by association, the elements of divisiveness that could tear the social fabric of our community were created.

Quintero did not get my vote. He deserved to lose, and if he has any decency left in him, he should resign from office.

But, amid all this, there is a silver lining.

The man who was instrumental in creating the atmosphere where a school board and a city council could work together to address issues of youth at risk. The man who demonstrated that commitment, diplomacy and integrity could work in Burbank, is now the Democrats' choice for the state Assembly. It may not be such a coincidence that a man of integrity comes from a city with campaign-contribution limits.

It is my hope that Paul Krekorian will carry the message of campaign reform to Sacramento and help get rid of the pernicious legacy of lies, deception and hate that permeates political action committees and slate organizers.

A vote for Krekorian was a vote to restore integrity and democracy.

He carries our hopes, our aspirations and our support in the fall election.