By Julie BUTCHER

“Leave it to the professionals. Watch a professional show. Stay away from the fireworks,” advised Glendale Police Chief Manny Cid at the Glendale City Council meeting on Tuesday night. “Enjoy the time with your family. Enjoy the holiday.” 

Fire Chief Jeff Brooks joined the police chief in encouraging people to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday as safely as possible. 

“At times of high fire risk across the entire city – look at what’s happening in Riverside where 6,000 acres are burning from four different fires – that same risk applies to us here in Glendale,” he said.

The council spent most of the Tuesday night meeting deliberating its rules for selecting a mayor, ultimately voting to scrap the mayoral selection ordinance in its entirety adopted in 2020.

Conceptually, the council agreed to move the annual selection of mayor from April to July based on changes in the dates of municipal elections over the past years. Elections occur now in March and June. 

Glendalian Alan Durham summed up the history of the discussion in his comments to the council: the ordinance was passed with the stated goal of adding fairness and predictability to the process [and] to prevent council members from being passed over, as had happened in the past. The seniority procedures laid out in the ordinance were ignored in the last two mayoral selections, Durham observed. 

“The last two mayor selection processes were an embarrassment to the city and gave critics of the city and the council the chance to claim the selection of mayor was the result of political horse-trading and backroom dealings,” Durham said further criticizing the inclusion of detailed language in the ordinance regarding mental health conditions. “I have read the actual staff report.”

Glendale resident Patrick Murphy recalled the resolution passed in 2020 included language that the person who chaired the Housing Authority would go on to be the mayor but that “did not make it into the ordinance” while the “best interests” clause was not discussed in the resolution but does appear in the current law. 

“How that happened, who knows?” he said.

Murphy advocated going back to the underlying thinking.

“It worked. It worked for several years,” he said. “It didn’t work for the last two years because … well, we all know why.”

Councilmember Dan Brotman recalled the deliberations, observing that “the ordinance was well-intentioned but obviously has not worked and has made things worse, in fact. Maybe it’s the national political climate that’s seeped into the work we do here in Glendale.”

Brotman shared his conclusion to remove the ordinance.

“At this point,” he said, “the best thing we can do is just eliminate it.”

“The process has become very political and that is the problem,” Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian commented. 

“Whatever changes you make to this ordinance, if you’re not part of the majority you will be [passed over] and that’s the reality of it … at the end of the day, majority rules; the majority will make the decision. We never had this – we had some issues in the past but before this ordinance we never had the mayoral selection process be so harsh that it divided the community in two and they were really against each other. I’m not happy about it,” Councilmember Gharpetian said adding that the “best interests” clause is insulting in that it allows the council to exclude a member from serving as mayor.

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian reported that he had introduced the process back in 2020 with the intent of enhancing fairness and consistency. He wrote in a communication circulated in advance of Tuesday’s meeting that to him “the role of the mayor in Glendale is not about power or politics – it’s about service, stewardship and symbolism. It’s about demonstrating to our residents that we govern with integrity, not ego. That we listen. That we lead together. And that we believe in the promise of shared leadership.”

“As someone who has stepped aside when it was my turn, who has stood by decisions rooted in equity and who helped create the very framework we rely on today, I remain committed to strengthening the process – not for me, but for everyone who will follow,” Kassakhian concluded. “Glendale deserves nothing less.” 

Mayor Ara Najarian agreed that the “best interests” clause had not been in the original resolution and that it had “slipped by.” Mayor Najarian reported that he had challenged the “best interests” clause in court after he sued the city when he was not selected mayor and that the judge was clear that the selection of mayor is a legislative act, that no reason need be given. The judge said that it should be expected that in the process of selecting a mayor there would be “backdoor deals” or agreements or communications.

“There’s always going to be a problem, someone who believes they should be the next mayor. The expectation of being mayor is what creates the bitterness when they are not selected,” Mayor Najarian said. He urged the council to “can the ordinance, forget the seniority rule. Let council members decide. Let all the council members strive during their term to maintain good relations with their colleagues. No one is guaranteed a seat.”

The council voted to repeal the ordinance (Councilmember Elen Asatryan abstained) and to entertain further discussion about the date of the annual mayoral selection and how to best bridge the time between April and July.

City Attorney Mike Garcia reminded the council that the new rules it adopted for council meetings go into effect on July 3. At the next council meeting on Tuesday, July 15, there will be an additional period near the beginning of the meeting for public comments on any topic, related or not to an item on the council meeting agenda. Time for announcing community events will be dedicated to community events. Time for oral communications will continue to be available at the end of the council meetings as well.

Mayor Najarian announced a series of upcoming community meetings to discuss the North Hollywood-Pasadena BRT (bus rapid transit) “that is faster and more reliable,” set to add 22 new bus stations along the 19 miles connecting North Hollywood, Glendale, Eagle Rock and Pasadena. A virtual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 10, from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The call-in number is (213) 338-8477 and the meeting’s webinar ID is 849 6832 2391. The Glendale community meeting in- person is set for Wednesday, July 16 from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Adult Recreation Center, 201 E. Colorado St. More detail is available directly from Metro: https://www.metro.net/projects/noho-pasadena-corridor/.

Mayor Najarian also announced the city’s series of summer concerts that started this week on Wednesdays in Verdugo Park, 1621 Cañada Blvd. and on Friday evenings, starting on July 11, in Brand Park, 1601 W. Mountain St. Katja Rieckermann Group kicks off the Brand Summer Music Series on July 11. Concerts at both locations begin at 7 p.m.

“Join us for a live performance by a talented band in a family-friendly setting. Bring a picnic dinner and folding chairs or blankets for seating … and don’t forget your dancing shoes!” Information about Friday’s concert at Brand Park can be found at https://www.glendaleca.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/54022/18.