BURBANK, Calif.—With only 16 votes more than the minimum necessary to get elected, Steve Ferguson, one of the Armenian National Committee of America–Burbank’s endorsed candidates, spent three tense days waiting for outcome of the roughly 180 ballots requiring the County of Los Angeles Registrar of Voters to determine their validity. Ultimately, he (5107 votes) and Roberta Reynolds (5362 votes), another Burbank ANCA endorsee, won school board seats outright in the February 24 Primary Election.
Emily Gabel-Luddy (for city council, 4170 votes) and Armond Aghakhanian (for School Board, 3710 votes), also Burbank ANCA endorsees, advanced to the April 14 General Election. Unfortunately, Vahe Hovanessian, another of ANCA–Burbank’s candidates, was unable to secure enough votes to participate in the General election, despite garnering much support in the community.
“As a new member going through my first election cycle with ANCA–Burbank, I’m excited that our endorsees did so well. I am also impressed by the extensive deliberations we went through during our endorsement process,” said activist Apo Atteukenian.
With no one securing a city council seat, four candidates have advanced to the general election with Gabel-Luddy leading the pack. Similarly, Aghakhanian leads in the two-person race for the one school board seat that remains to be filled.
“With 10190 people voting, of which over 1,100 were Armenians, the Armenian community can be proud of having a higher rate of participation than the overall population of Burbank,” said Armen Hagobian, another recent addition to the Burbank ANCA. “Our community can play an important, if not decisive, role in these elections. The more Armenians that turn out to vote, the more our community is recognized as an active and vocal segment of Burbank,” he continued.
The ballots for the April 14 all-mail general election should arrive in voters’ mailboxes around the third weekend in March. Voting quickly is important. If voters have questions, the Burbank ANCA can be contacted at media@ancaburbank.org or by calling the Burbank ANCA office at 818/562-1918. For those who are not registered to vote, the deadline for the April 14 election is March31. For assistance, contact the Burbank ANCA or go to www.hyevotes.org/.
The Armenian National Committee of America–Burbank advances the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of the area’s Armenian community and promotes its increased civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.
