02-15-09, Barry Allen’s Comments in the 02-15-09 Vanguard Weekly News on Glendale’s Condition

 

"Glendale is a better city than it was four years ago," were the words spoken by Ara Najarian at the first candidate's forum sponsored by the Unified Young Armenians at the Central library on Sunday.

 

"I worked very hard in the last four years to make Glendale a better city." Mr. Najarian must wear rose colored glasses as he has failed to see that downtown Glendale is a morass of empty retail and Class A office space and that roads are not repaired.

 

Apparently Mr. Najarian spends his time with government employees who haven't missed an annual Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) increase since he was elected in 2005. Somehow or other Najarian missed the large number of foreclosures, disconnects by GWP, loss of sales tax revenue and the end of development. He hasn't seen the homeless, the unemployed and the attorney's that can't pay their rent in Class A buildings. There must be a disconnect from reality. For the first time out on such an ambitious project the Unified Young Armenians did an excellent job even providing a translator for the mixed audience.