AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIA TASHJIAN, FORMER SECRETARY OF CT
Posted by Lilly Torosyan on July 13, 2012 in Interviews,
Mid-Atlantic
Julia Tashjian An Interview with Julia Tashjian, Former Secretary of
CT
Julia Tashjian
Armenian Weekly intern Lilly Torosyan recently conducted the
following interview with Julia Tashjian, the former Secretary of
Connecticut from 1983-91. Tashjian is an active member of St.
George~Rs Armenian Apostolic Church in Hartford, Conn., and currently
resides in Windsor, Conn.
Lilly Torosyan: Tell us a little bit about your background.
Julia Tashjian: Well I was born in Rhode Island, and moved to
Connecticut when I was four years old. My parents were from Kharpert.
My mother was from Iznik and my father was from Sursur. When they
came to the United States, they went to Rhode Island because that was
where a lot of Armenians from that area relocated.
LT: What brought you into elective politics? Was it a gradual process
or a spontaneous decision?
JT: At that time, you had to be 21 to vote. I started out at 18 on
the Young Democrats. The reason I got interested in politics in the
first place was that the old neighborhood in Hartford where I grew up
was very politically active. Around election time, there would be
banners across the front porches and I thought, ~QGee, well that~Rs a
lot of fun. I think I~Rd like to do that!~R
I started running peoples~R campaigns and fundraisers. When I decided
to run for office, I had been helping one of the other legislators
running for secretary of state, and when I was reading the background
of others on the ballot, I noticed that I had a better background in
government than they had, so I decided to give it a go. I was told
that I shouldn~Rt bother because not only did I not have any elective
experience, but there were not enough Armenians to fill a phone
booth! So I had no ethnic group to back me. In fact, none of the
reporters could even pronounce my last name. They told me that I had
no chance at all, but when I won the convention, they started to
pronounce my name properly. [She chuckles]
After I got elected, everybody said I was a lawyer but I was not. I
am not a lawyer. In fact, I did not even start taking college classes
until my early 40s, and I never finished college. But, I worked at
the legislature from 1969 until I took office [in 1983] so I was
familiar with how the state government worked and how you get things
done.
LT: What~Rs your opinion of Connecticut politics today and the
direction it is heading in?
JT: Well I like Governor [Dannel] Malloy, but I think one of the
problems is that the legislature is no longer made up of
professionals. We used to have plumbers, farmers, real estate
workers~Wpeople from all different walks of life~Wso when they were
making a decision, it was based on knowledge that was passed from
whoever was in that field. We are now inundated with people who have
chosen legislature as a career, rather than as public service. People
have been in office too long and what happens is after so many years,
you forget what it~Rs like for the man on the street. Before, in
politics, it was understood that ~QYour word is your bond.~R Now,
people change their minds and you don~Rt even know it until they get
on the floor to vote!
LT: I understand that you have done a lot for the local Armenian
community, even after you served as secretary of state. Describe your
involvement in Armenian causes: events, charities, etc.
JT: For many years, I helped the organizers of the Martyr~Rs Day
commemoration that took place in the state capitol building every
year. In fact, it used to be in the Senate Chambers, but it just got
so big that we had to relocate to the House Chambers.
I remember one year when [William] O~RNeal was governor, his office
called me, saying that a Turkish group was against having these
events in the state capitol and asked what I thought. I told them
that as the governor, he had the right to his own decision, but that
if anything were to happen, there was nevertheless a much larger
Armenian population in Connecticut than Turkish, so there would be
demonstrations for sure. After that, they backed down.
Also, the governor put me in charge of the funds in Connecticut for
the Armenian earthquake in Gyumri [Dec. 7, 1988]. I also worked with
the representative for the Connecticut Board of Education to get the
Armenian Genocide into the school curriculum.
I also served on the National Platform Committee for Democrats, which
met in many cities from New England to California. No matter where I
went, the Armenian community would always contact me every time. They
would have coffee hour or something, regardless of which Armenian
political party they belonged to. They all were proud that there was
an Armenian running.
LT: Do you believe that it is important for Armenians to be involved
in American politics? How would you recommend they become more
engaged, especially for those who have never been politically active?
JT: I~Rve been saying this for years! The problem is that a lot of
Armenians came here to escape the genocide, and they were just
thankful to be in a free, democratic country that didn~Rt persecute
them, so they just didn~Rt get involved in politics~Wand that~Rs
where it all begins. Many traditional Armenian families also stressed
the importance of business, medicine, and law, pushing aside
politics. Thank goodness for the internships in Washington because
being in elected office, part of a newspaper staff, or in state and
federal departments, is important in furthering Armenian causes.
Little by little, because of internship programs, we~Rve seen a lot
more involvement, at least in the bureaucracy. We have seen this with
the advancement of Armenians in political office, such as former
California Governor George Deukmajian, and former Mass. Speaker of
the House George Keverian. There have been many state legislators in
Massachusetts that are Armenian, and they are only multiplying.
As a whole, Armenians are an ambitious and competitive people, and
that~Rs why they succeed. Most are very bright, open-hearted, and
hospitable, and they are good at whatever they take on.
LT: Speaking of hospitality and openness, how did your parents react
when they found out you wanted to run for office?
JT: When I told my parents that I was running for secretary of state,
my father asked me who was going to make the meals and clean the
house~Wthe whole housewife thing. Actually, when I was a National
Convention delegate, the Armenian Assembly was having a special
delegation from around the country, and everyone huddled together for
a picture and all of the men were in front and the women were all the
way in the back! So the whole woman-in-the-house typecast was really
prevalent at that time, but ultimately, my parents were proud of what
I did.
It~Rs funny because when I was elected secretary of state, my niece
became the first Miss Teen USA [Ruth Zakarian], and my brother became
the head of the Hartford PAL [Police Athletic League] Association.
So, all three of us were in the news that year.
LT: What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment as
secretary of state?
JT: You know those stickers that say ~QI Voted~R? Well, I started
that.
rmer-secretary-of-ct/
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