CALLS, MAILER BRING ANGER
By Fred Ortega, The Leader
Burbank Leader,CA
June 6 2006
Community upset over campaign mailing bashing Assembly candidate,
calling it racist hate speech.
GLENDALE — A campaign mailing and phone calls linking Assembly
candidate Paul Krekorian and the Armenian National Committee to a
terrorism suspect convicted of weapons charges has many community
leaders outraged and some crying racism.
The calls and mailers, sent out by the Oakland-based California
Latino Leadership Fund, were delivered to thousands of Glendale and
Burbank area voters in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary. The
mailers feature a mug shot of Mourad Topalian, a former Armenian
National Committee chairman who pleaded guilty for possession of
stolen explosives and two machine guns in Ohio in 2000, according
to FBI records. The postcard-sized campaign piece also states that
Krekorian accepted the Armenian National Committee’s endorsement in
his run for the State Assembly and helped get “[Armenian National
Committee] books and literature into libraries for schoolchildren.”
“It is very sad whenever any campaign is tainted with tactics that
appeal to hatred and bigotry,” Krekorian said. “I think people care
about what matters to all Californians, which is improving education,
providing healthcare to everyone and protecting the environment —
not personal attacks and character assassination.”
The Armenian National Committee “books and literature” cited in the
mailer were actually 1,000 books in Armenian and English about Armenian
culture and history that were donated to the Burbank Library system at
the request of library officials to expand their international section,
he said, adding that the Burbank City Council honored his wife Tamar
Krekorian and the committee for their efforts in securing the books.
The sinister undertone of the mailings contrast sharply with the
true spirit of the Armenian National Committee, said Zanku Armenian,
board member of the committee’s Western Region based in Glendale.
Topalian, who the FBI suspect was a leader of the Justice Commandos of
the Armenian Genocide, resigned his post after the charges surfaced,
Armenian said.
“We live in a country in which you are innocent until proven guilty,”
Armenian said, adding that Topalian was never convicted of terrorism
charges, only weapons possession. “At the time he was chairman and
started having these troubles, he resigned so he could deal with
his personal issues without dragging down the [Armenian National
Committee]. These matters have nothing to do with the organization,
which has a mission to represent and give voice to the Armenian
American community within the American political system.”
Armenian further suggested that Krekorian’s opponent for the democratic
nomination, City Councilman Frank Quintero, and outgoing 43rd Assembly
District Rep. Dario Frommer, who has endorsed Quintero, were somehow
connected to the mailers.
“We had been hearing rumblings coming from Sacramento that Quintero
and Frommer had a ‘killer issue’ that would swing the race and
we were hoping our information was wrong, but it is now our firm
belief that Quintero knew all about it,” he said. “We believe that
they were firmly behind the scenes and this sort of dirty campaign
tactics are the last gasp of breath of a failing candidate at the
end of his political career.”
Under state law it would be illegal for Quintero’s campaign to
coordinate with a separate entity on an independent expenditure such as
the mailers in question. The California Latino Leadership Fund spent
more than $18,000 in independent expenditures opposing Krekorian,
and more than $30,000 on similar expenditures to support Quintero,
according to campaign finance records from the Secretary of State’s
office.
Both Frommer and Quintero denied any knowledge or involvement with
the Latino Leadership Fund or its activities, and each sent letters
to fund officials expressing the disapproval of the mailer.
“I am disgusted that this organization, which by law has no affiliation
with my campaign, has sent out such a hurtful message,” Quintero said
in a statement. “The mailer does not reflect anything that I believe
in or stand for.”
California Latino Leadership Fund officials did not return calls
seeking comment.
The group has received funding from tribal gaming groups, Pacific Gas
and Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Inc., and Cendant Corp., among others.
The mailings and phone campaign have done much to damage the
relationship between Glendale’s Armenian and Latino communities,
Glendale Unified School District Board member Mary Boger said.
“The city and school district have worked closely together to create
harmony in our community,” said Boger, who received the controversial
phone calls at her home.
“Whomsoever is responsible for this hate mail and hate speech has
undermined years of work and has no right to seek a leadership
position.”
Glendale Community College Trustee Victor King, Glendale Democratic
Club President Laurie Collins and Glendale Historical Commission
Chairwoman Deborah Dentler also released a statement condemning the
phone calls and mailings.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A. Councilman Eric Garcetti,
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff and Quintero all denounced the attacks.