PASADENA—Joe Baghdadlian, a District 4 small business owner and neighborhood advocate, today announced his candidacy for Pasadena City Council. A longtime public safety advisor, education advocate, and homeowner association block captain, Joe is a hands-on, decisive and respected community leader who will use common sense solutions to tackle the problems facing District 4.
“Homelessness is on the rise. Our district faces environmental issues. Our schools are in danger of being shut down. The city is victim to poor planning that has led to traffic nightmares. And, City Hall isn’t doing enough to support the small businesses that are the backbone of our community,” said Baghdadlian. “We need to get Pasadena back on track and we need a Councilmember who will take action now. I will work closely with our residents, public safety officials, and neighborhood groups to address the problems that confront us. Our district deserves leadership it can count on.”
Joe has lived the quintessential American immigrant success story. When the love of his life moved to the U.S. with her family, Joe knew that he needed to join her. Arriving in California in 1973, he and his wife, Hourig, married later that year. Joe used his experience fixing cars to land a job where he worked hard, long hours in a garage. Soon, he would start his own business, expanding it into one of the premier providers of auto body work in Pasadena. Today, his family operates Symes Collision Center (part of the Syme’s Cadillac and Land Rover automotive family) and Joe’s Auto Body Collision Center (part of the Thorson Buick GMC automotive family), both on Colorado Boulevard in District 4. Joe and Hourig have been happily married for 45 years, and they have been blessed with four amazing children and five beautiful grandchildren.
Joe has a distinguished history serving our community. He is an advisory board member to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (Temple Station) and works on community relations and homeland security issues. Joe’s dedication to improving our neighborhoods led to involvement with his local homeowner association, where he currently serves as a Block Captain. In that role, he has hosted fire and earthquake preparedness workshops for neighbors at his home featuring emergency management experts and officials – addressing brush clearing, distributing gas shutoff keys, and making emergency home supply kits.
To mark the launch of his campaign, Joe will host a kickoff celebration on Sunday, September 29 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Eaton Canyon Golf Course, located at 1150 Sierra Madre Villa Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. The event is free and open to all members of the community. Residents are welcome to come and talk to Joe directly about the neighborhood issues that concern them. RSVPs are requested by Thursday, September 26 through email or phone (626) 321-7770.
Learn more about Joe Baghdadlian and his vision for Pasadena online.
Good afternoon Joe, I live in District 4 and only became familiar with your running for Councilman by receiving your Christmas card. You’re not paying much attention to our little corner of Pasadena which is located just above Eaton Canyon. We have a whole other set of problems up here and, if we are to vote for you, we would like to know how you plan to handle this area given it is prime area for homelessness, drugs, and fire just to name a few. Gene Masuda has been our Councilman for several years and I’m not certain he’s running again as I have not heard from him either. If he does run, what makes you a better choice? In the past, Gene has come around and met all the neighbors and listened to our concerns as well as holding neighborhood meeting to address said concerns. He has been responsive and caring. So far my neighbors know nothing about you and so are unlikely to cast a vote for someone they have not heard from. What are your feelings/concerns if Victor Gordo becomes Mayor?
Thank you for the opportunity to reach out to you.