Drayman, Weaver could face upset

CITY HALL — The reelection of City Councilmen John Drayman and Dave Weaver was thrown into doubt on Tuesday, with challenger Rafi Manoukian taking the top spot after the unofficial tally from all 57 precincts was announced.

The results could take weeks to be finalized. The gap between Manoukian and Drayman was 162 votes, but there were roughly 3,000 ballots still be uncounted, including provisional and mail-ins that were turned in at the polls, according to the city clerk’s office. The ballots still had to be verified.

It was a major comeback for Manoukian, who lost to Drayman in 2007 and had a failed run at the city treasurer’s office two years later.

He campaigned on fiscal conservatism while touting his accounting background.

“It’s definitely a positive for the campaign, and I think everybody’s excited with the turnout so far,” Manoukian said, shortly after midnight from his campaign headquarters, adding that he took a different approach compared to his unsuccessful 2007 campaign. “It was a more grassroots effort and we tried to reach out to as many voters as we could.”

For the incumbents, the waiting would continue to for days until the vote was official.

“It’s a very close race, and obviously I would have liked to have had the numbers come out differently,” Drayman said shortly before midnight on Tuesday. “But it’s a very close race. Both Rafi and Dave ran excellent campaigns and I complement them, especially Rafi. And we’ll see.”

According to the unofficial tally, Rafi garnered 24.6% vote, Weaver 24.2% and Drayman 24.1%.

Gathered with supporters at Joselito’s restaurant on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, Weaver described the campaign as the dirtiest he’d seen in Glendale, but said he was eager to continue business at City Hall, which is grappling with an estimated $10-million budget gap.

“I just hope I win on what I’ve done for 14 years,” Weaver said.

City Hall gadfly Mike Mohill, perennial candidate Chahe Keuroghelian and City Hall newcomer Garen Mailyan were unable to gain much momentum at the polls.

In this first full election cycle to fall under stricter campaign finance regulations adopted by the City Council in 2008, campaign cash plummeted compared to previous years.