Paul Krekorian wins Los Angeles City Council race

by Armenian Reporter staff

Published: Saturday December 12, 2009

Paul Krekorian.

Los Angeles - Paul Krekorian, assistant majority leader of the California State Assembly, won a competitive special election for membership in the Los Angeles City Council on December 8. Mr. Krekorian garnered 56.56 percent of the vote, putting him ahead of his opponent in the runoff, former Paramount Pictures executive Christine Essel, by over 13 percentage points.

"Today, the voters of CD2 demanded profound change and soundly rejected the domination of this city by Downtown insiders," Mr. Krekorian said, using shorthand for Council District 2. The district stretches from Sherman Oaks and Studio City to Tujunga. "This victory is the beginning of a fundamental transformation of the government of Los Angeles, and it sends a strong signal that the people of the San Fernando Valley are not satisfied with business as usual."

Some of the city's most powerful unions had flooded the race with hundreds of thousands of dollars in independent expenditures to support Ms. Essel. According to the Los Angeles Times, Ms. Essel and her independent backers spent about $156 swaying each of the 8,304 voters who cast ballots for her. Mr. Krekorian and the groups supporting him spent $28 per voter.

The Department of Water and Power employees union spent $900,000 to support Ms. Essel. Drawing attention to this sum, Mr. Krekorian's campaign noted that the union had recently negotiated a five-year package of raises at a time when other city employees received pay cuts. Other unions, including the Service Employees International Union endorsed Mr. Krekorian, a Democrat.

Mr. Krekorian "built a formidable campaign to vote by mail," the Los Angeles Times reported, noting that fully 57 percent of the votes cast in the election were mailed in. "His support was particularly strong in the Armenian community," the Times added.

Mr. Krekorian would have been barred by term limits from serving in the state assembly beyond 2012. He and Ms. Essel both moved to the district to run for the City Council seat vacated by City Controller Wendy Greuel.