CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR IN BIGGEST POLITICAL CHALLENGE
By E.J. Schultz, Fresno Bee
Scripps Howard News Service
September 26, 2006, Tuesday 4:24 PM EST
If Jerry Brown was born into politics, Chuck Poochigian, you might say,
stumbled into it over breakfast.
The year was 1977. The occasion: a morning organizing event in Fresno
for then-state Sen. George Deukmejian.
Deukmejian was ramping up his run for attorney general and looking
for volunteers. Poochigian, fresh out of law school, seemed to fit
the bill.
“They were looking for someone who was a young attorney,” he recalls.
And so began a nearly 30-year political career that this fall brings
Poochigian to his greatest challenge yet: a run for attorney general
against Brown, a better-known and better-funded Democrat.
To say the race is a study in contrasts is an understatement.
Poochigian, a 57-year-old conservative Republican state senator,
grew up on a family farm in rural Fresno County. He spent nearly 20
years volunteering for campaigns and working behind the scenes before
plunging into elected office in his mid 40s with his election to the
Assembly in 1994.
Brown, the mayor of Oakland, is the son of a governor. His entry
into state politics began with a bang when he was elected California
Secretary of State in his early 30s. He went on to serve two terms
as governor and make three runs for president.
Brown, 68, remains one of the most well-known politicians in
California, a fact that has helped him to a double-digit lead in
early polling and a more than $1million fundraising edge.
Poochigian says the gap can be closed.
“My challenge is to overcome my name identification,” he said. “His
challenge is to overcome his record.”
So far the candidates have spent more time attacking each other’s
past than debating the issues of today.
The Poochigian team conjures up the image of Governor Moonbeam, the
“flaky” and “too liberal” Gov. Brown of the 1970s and early 1980s who
supported a prisoners’ bill of rights and vetoed a bill to reinstate
the death penalty. (The Legislature overrode the veto.)
The Brown camp paints Poochigian as an “out-of-touch” and “extreme”
career legislator who voted with business and against the environment.
The rough-and-tumble of a statewide political campaign seems an
unlikely place to find Poochigian, a mild-mannered policy wonk who
seems more at home breaking down legislation than slinging one liners.
“For me the campaign is an essential path to having the opportunity to
serve, and that’s it,” he said. “I’m not interested in politics for
the sake of just taking a victory lap. My reward comes from getting
into the job, doing the people’s business.”
The grandson of Armenian genocide survivors, Charles Suren Poochigian
was born in 1949 and raised in Lone Star, an old railroad town
southeast of Fresno. His elementary school didn’t have a Cub Scout
troop or baseball team, so Poochigian got involved in the 4-H club
and worked on the family farm.
He got a business degree from California State University, Fresno,
in 1972 and a law degree from Santa Clara University in 1975. After
graduation he opened a general law practice with Steven Vartabedian,
a college and law school friend.
Vartabedian, now a court of appeal justice in Fresno, said he and
Poochigian were “short-hair-cutted geeks” in college, bucking the
long-haired hippie trend of the day. “OK, let’s calm down,” was their
attitude, he said. “We’re here to get an education, we’re not here
to save the world.”
That’s not to say Poochigian isn’t outgoing. Vartabedian saw the
political ability in him from the start. “You walk into a room and
he’s the kind of person that knows everyone and will converse with
so many people,” he said.
A noted punster, Poochigian thrives on one-on-one conversations,
but shies away from the limelight of a news conference. When he first
came to the Legislature, reporters joked that his favorite quote was
“off the record: no comment,” said Deborah Gonzalez, Poochigian’s
chief of staff for the past seven years.
Poochigian’s first full-time political job came in 1988 when he
was named to the senior staff of Gov. Deukmejian, whom Poochigian
would come to idolize. Poochigian was responsible for interviewing
potential appointees to boards, commissions and the judiciary – a job
he performed with a penchant for detail, Deukmejian said. His reports
were “much longer memos than I would normally get, and I used to kid
him about it a lot.”
Poochigian, who had no intention of getting into politics, expected
it to be a “two-year stint and back home.” But he ended up staying
on through Gov. Pete Wilson’s inauguration and took over as Wilson’s
appointments secretary after the governor’s initial choice resigned.
He ran for the Assembly in 1994, at the urging of Bill Jones, who
left the Fresno-area seat to run for Secretary of State. Poochigian
won the election easily and quickly became a behind-the-scenes
power player. As a freshman he was named chairman of the powerful
appropriations committee, a rare assignment for a rookie.
He was elected to the Senate in 1998, earning a reputation among
Republicans and Democrats as a fair-minded, hard-working legislator.
One of his greatest legislative achievements was carrying the 2004
workers compensation overhaul bill that has been widely credited
with saving employers billions of dollars. He has written numerous
crime bills, including one that closed a loophole that allowed child
molesters who targeted their own family members to avoid prison time.
He says he is guided by the principle that “the primary goal in
government is public safety.”

EXHIBITION OF PHOTOS BY BRAZILIAN ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER KICKS OFF
Armenpress
Sept 25 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS: An exhibition of photos by Brazilian
Armenian photographer Manuk Poladian kicked off today at the Moscow
cinema in Yerevan. The exhibition presents 46 photos of San Paulo and
is dedicated to the 450th anniversary of the town. The author of the
works decided to donate the photos to “Armenpress” news agency which,
together with Brazilian embassy in Armenia and Armenian Consulate
General in Brazil, has supported in the organization of the exhibition.
At the exhibition present were Armenian Culture and Youth Affairs
Minister Hasmik Poghosian, Executive Director of “Armenpress” news
agency Hrayr Zoryan, Armenian ambassador to Brazil Ashot Yeghiazarian,
Brazilian ambassador to Armenia Mrs. Renate Stille as well as Armenian
businessmen and art figures who arrived from Brazil.
Manuk Poladian was born in San Paulo in the family which was dealing
with photography and film making.
The works of the 70-years old photographer were presented in Brazil
and other countries.

UK-ARMENIA COOPERATION STRENGTHENED WITHIN PAST 3.5 YEARS
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 13:14 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the National Security Council at the
President of Armenia, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan received UK
Military Attache to Armenia, lieutenant colonel Christopher Nunn,
who finished his tenure, and his successor lieutenant colonel Nicolas
Ridout. Temporary Charge d’Affaires of UK in Armenia, Vice-Ambassador
Richard Haide was present at the meeting. As Spokesperson for the
Armenian MOD, colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net,
S. Sargsyan thanked Christopher Nunn and wished the newly appointed
Attache success. The parties confirmed that within past 3.5
years military cooperation between the two countries increased and
strengthened. The new Attache assures that within his stay in Armenia
he will raise the level of the UK-Armenia defense cooperation.

BAKU LOST MORAL RIGHT TO CUSTODY OF KARABAKH PEOPLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 14:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We follow the Kosovo self-determination process
very closely,” Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian stated at the 61st session
of the UN GA, reports the Press Office of the MFA of Armenia.
“We ourselves strongly support the process of self-determination for
the population of Nagorno Karabakh. Yet, we do not draw parallels
between these two or any other conflicts. We believe that conflicts
are all different and each must be decided on its own merits. While
we do not look at the outcome of Kosovo as a precedent, on the other
hand, a Kosovo decision cannot and should not result in the creation
of obstacles to self-determination for others in order to pre-empt
the accusation of precedence. Such a reverse reaction – to prevent
or pre-empt others from achieving well-earned self-determination –
is unacceptable,” the Minister said. In his words, efforts to do just
that – by elevating territorial integrity above all other principles –
are already underway, especially in the chamber, where the session took
place. “But this contradicts the lessons of history. There is a reason
that the Helsinki Final Act enshrines self-determination as an equal
principle. In international relations, just as in human relations,
there are no absolute rights. There are also responsibilities. A state
must earn the right to lead and govern. States have the responsibility
to protect their citizens. A people choose the government, which
represents them,” Oskanian said.
“The people of Nagorno Karabakh chose long ago not to be represented
by the government of Azerbaijan. They were the victims of state
violence, they defended themselves, and succeeded against great odds,
only to hear the state cry foul and claim sovereignty and territorial
integrity. But the government of Azerbaijan has lost the moral right
to even suggest providing for their security and their future, let
alone to talk of custody of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan
did not behave responsibly or morally with the people of Nagorno
Karabakh, who it considered to be its own citizens. They sanctioned
massacres in urban areas, far from Nagorno Karabakh; they bombed and
displaced more than 300,000 Armenians; they unleashed the military;
and after they lost the war and accepted a cease-fire, they proceeded
to destroy all traces of Armenians on their territories.
In the most cynical expression of such irresponsibility, this last
December, a decade after the fighting had stopped, they completed the
final destruction and removal of thousands of massive hand-sculpted
cross-stones – medieval Armenian tombstones elaborately carved
and decorated. Such destruction, in an area with no Armenians,
at a distance from Nagorno Karabakh and any conflict areas, is a
callous demonstration that Azerbaijan’s attitude toward tolerance,
human values, cultural treasures, cooperation or even peace, has not
changed,” V. Oskanian underscored.

COMPROMISE AND REALISM ONLY OPTIONS FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 14:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ One cannot blame Armenia for thinking that Azerbaijan
is not ready or interested in a negotiated peace, Armenian FM Vartan
Oskanian stated at the 61st session of the UN GA, reports the Press
Office of the MFA of Armenia. “Yet, having rejected the other two
compromise solutions that have been proposed over the last 8 years,
they do not want to be accused of rejecting the peace plan on the table
today. Therefore, they are using every means available – from state
violence to international maneuvers – to try to bring the Armenians to
do the rejecting. But Armenia is on record: we have agreed to each of
the basic principles in the document that’s on the table today. Yet, in
order to give this or any document a chance, Azerbaijan can’t think, or
pretend to think, that there is still a military option. There isn’t.
The military option is a tried and failed option.
Compromise and realism are the only real options. The path that
Nagorno Karabakh has chosen for itself over these two decades is
irreversible. Karabakh succeeded in ensuring its self-defense, it
proceeded to set up self-governance mechanisms, and it controls its
borders and its economy. Formalizing this process is a necessary step
toward stability in our region.
Dismissing, as Azerbaijan does, all that has happened in the last 20
years and petulantly insisting that things must return to the way they
were, is not just unrealistic, but disingenuous. Nagorno Karabakh is
not a cause. It is a place, an ancient place, a beautiful garden, with
people who have earned the right to live in peace and without fear. We
ask for nothing more. We expect nothing less,” Oskanian summed up.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY’S INSISTENCE ON KEEPING ARMENIAN BORDER IS REALLY NOT A POLICY
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 14:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Unlike other countries, where borders are points of
interaction and activity, Armenia’s borders to the east and the west
remain closed. As a result, regional economic development suffers,
Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian stated at the 61st session of the UN GA,
reports the Press Office of the MFA of Armenia. “However, with Turkey,
it is more than our economies that suffer. It is the dialogue between
our two peoples that suffers. Turkey’s insistence on keeping the border
closed, on continuing to prevent direct contact and communication,
freezes the memories of yesterday instead of creating new experiences
to forge the memories of tomorrow. We continue to remain hopeful that
Turkey will see that blocking relations until there is harmony and
reciprocal understanding is really not a policy. On the contrary,
it’s an avoidance of a responsible policy to forge forward with
regional cooperation at a time and in a region with growing global
significance,” he said.

SCHWARZENEGGER SIGNED LAW TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS AND THEIR HEIRS
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 15:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed
SB 1524, legislation that provides relief to California Armenian
Genocide victims, and their families, who are seeking legal action to
recover assets that were lost or stolen during the atrocities against
the Armenian people.
Under this law, any Armenian Genocide victim, heir or beneficiary,
who resides in California may bring or continue a court action for
a financial institution’s failure to pay or turn over deposited or
looted assets. This bill also extends the statute of limitation for
filing a claim to December 31, 2016.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CILICIA CREW AWARDED STATE MEDALS
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.09.2006 15:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian awarded
medals of the Republic of Armenia to the crew of Cilicia vessel,
reports the Press Office of the state leader. Kocharian thanked the
crew for brilliant realization of the brave idea of the three-year
voyage. Crewmembers handed the flag, which was on the mast during the
third phase of the voyage, and presented a souvenir model of the vessel
to the President. The sailors told Kocharian about their voyage, noting
they were impressed by reception of Diaspora Armenians. Kocharian said
everything will be done to provide for a deserving haven for Cilicia.
By a decree of the President expedition leader Zory Balayan, ship
captain Karen Balayan, mate Samvel Karapetyan are awarded medal for
Merit to the Fatherland of 1st degree. Navigator Sambel Babasyan and
boatswain Hayk Badalyan, mate Areg Nazaryan, boatswain Armen Nazaryan,
cook Samvel Sargsyan are awarded Medal for Courage.

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION HAS NO BOUNDERIES
A1+
[12:00 pm] 26 September, 2006
A number of Armenian, Azeri and Georgian journalists met in the
Georgian city of Shindis to discuss the issues of environment
protection and to find common ways of cooperation.
The Armenian and Azeri journalists focused on the issue of
mingling environment problems with political ones. They debated
on the rivers bordering the two countries. As we know the Azeri
side is constantly complaining that Armenia deliberately pollutes
the rivers flowing through Azerbaijan, whereas Armenia claims that
there is no evidence to prove it. The point is that the monitoring
is not perfect in either country, and the water quality of the
neighboring country is unknown. “Environment issues are often made
political. These issues often become the theme of such seminars but
they always remain insolvable,” noted Arevhat Grigoryan, an Armenian
specialist. Lilit Haroutyunyan, program coordinator of the environment
issues of the Caucasian region, added that the matter will find its
practical solution lest the countries shift the matter to political
sphere. “There is no political dialogue between the two countries,
and environment is beyond politics,” she said.
The Caucasian countries have got similar environmental problems –
the main concerns in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are wood cutting,
wastes, and common utilization of the water pool.
The two-day seminar entitled “Assistance of political community,
state and mass media into the ecologic dialogue” and initiated by the
environmental protection centre of the Caucasian region was aimed at
revealing the common problems of the countries under question as well
as at finding ways for journalists to render assistance to countries,
NGOs and business sector. The journalists came to the conclusion
that the faults and shortcomings of the sphere are the same in the
three countries; the state bodies violate the laws regulating the
environment sphere, there are not willing to provide information and
sometimes we come across people in the sphere who are unaware of the
environment sphere and its problems.
“The state bodies, mass media and NGOs are on the way of development
and such debates will contribute to all sides,” noted Souren Deheyan,
representative of “Armenian Now” electoral weekly. By the way, the
journalists confessed that sometimes the journalist turns out to be
unaware of the problems of the sphere himself; he doesn’t understand
the information of the source properly or delivers it to the audience
in wrong way. “Eco-journalism is not so authoritative. In fact there
is an urgent need of serious and literate journalists. Journalists
can prevent new ecological calamities,” said manager of the program
Lela Janashia.

MAMMADYAROV USES THE UNO TRIBUNE
A1+
[04:19 pm] 26 September, 2006
Yesterday Elmar Mammadyarov, Azeri Foreign Minister, used the tribune
of the United Nations General Assembly to present the international
community Azeri stance on the Karabakh issue once more.
According to the data of Day-az electronic site, Elmar Mammadyarov said
the following words during the 61st of the United Nations General
Assembly, “We can hardly speak of any progress in the conflict
regulation procedure if Armenia refuses direct negotiations with
Azerbaijan and displays non-constructive position.”
The Azeri Foreign Minister called on Armenian authorities to realise
the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and OSCE which
demand to vacate the “occupied lands” and to provide the return of the
refugees to these territories. This admissible approach will allow
the two sides to participate in the conflict regulation. Only in
that case Armenia will have a chance to participate in the regional
economic programs, to contribute to the regional development thus
strengthening mutual trust.