City Clerk

We believe it's presumptuous to "tell people who to vote for." The editorial board of this newspaper spent many hours interviewing more than 40 candidates for school board, college board, city clerk, city treasurer and City Council. We have also attended various candidate forums, studied the candidates' positions and covered the issues in these elections for months leading up to this election. While we would never attempt to "tell" residents how to vote, we believe our assessments may be useful as you make your decisions.

Alex Coolman CITY HALL -- Fierce competition may characterize Glendale's race for open City Council seats, but when it comes to the positions of treasurer and city clerk, things are quite different. Both positions are uncontested this year. Doris Twedt, the city clerk, and City Treasurer Ronald T. Borucki may need the symbolic approval of voters, but they could have actually been reappointed by the City Council under Glendale's charter. The two jobs are important.

Robert Chacon City Clerk candidate Stephanie Landregan knows the culture of city politics. Her list of jobs include stints with the planning departments for Santa Monica and La Verne and as chairwoman on Glendale's Design Review Board from 1996 to 2002. Her current position as a division chief for the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority has her rubbing elbows with council members and mayors from 27 cities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Clerk candidates to appear on Zarian GLENDALE -- Seven candidates for Glendale city clerk will appear on "The Larry Zarian Forum" at 6:30 p.m. today. Narineh Barzegar, Ardashes Kassakhian, Stephanie Landregan, Paulette Mardikian, Gary Sysock, Kathryn Van Houten and Lorna Vartanian will answer questions on the show, which will be run 90 minutes long, for 30 minutes longer than usual. Two other candidates for city clerk, George McCullough and Stephen Ropfogel, appeared on Zarian's show last week.

Rima Shah Five city clerk hopefuls requested election paperwork Thursday, the first day to do so. Now those candidates must collect 100 signatures on the petitions to make it on the April ballot. Stephanie Landregan, Paulette Mardikian, Stephan L. Ropfogel, Kathryn Van Houten and Lorna Vartanian entered the race. . Ardashes Kassakhian, who has also said he will run, has not requested papers yet. "I think I was the first one," Landregan said.

What do you consider the role of the city clerk? By City Charter, the city clerk for Glendale is the custodian of official records. Additionally, the office collects fees for permits, dog licenses and all fees for special events and uses. It maintains records and prints agendas for City Council meetings, Glendale Redevelopment Agency, housing meetings and commissions. The office is responsible for all aspects for the elections held in Glendale. For many, the office is the first contact to new citizens and businesses.

Josh Kleinbaum Glendale could have a competitive election in April to determine the city's chief election official for the first time in more than 75 years. Now, that race has its first competitor. Ardashes Kassakhian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee's Western Region, announced that he will run for City Clerk, a position that will be vacated in April when Doris Twedt retires at the end of her term. "I've always had a passion for public service," Kassakhian, 28, said.

What do you consider the role of the city clerk? The most important role of the clerk is the role of city Election Official. This role is the key reason this is an elected, and not appointed, position. As the Election Official, the clerk enforces the ... Election Code, conducts municipal elections every two years, prints and mails the ballots, and generally oversees the election process from setting up the polling place to counting the final tally.