Candidates compete to fill Assembly seat vacated by Paul Krekorian

In Burbank, Glendale and parts of Los Angeles, four candidates want the state Assembly seat vacated after Paul Krekorian was elected to the Los Angeles City Council.

Three Democrats and one Republican are on the April 13 special election ballot for the unexpired term that will last only a few months. Candidates hoping to also win a full two-year term in November must run in two elections at once.

Democratic candidates are Mike Gatto, a lawyer and part-time night school teacher who once worked for an area congressman; Chahe Keuroghelian, a small-business owner and former spokesman for the Glendale Police Department; and Nayiri Nahabedian, a board member of the Glendale Unified School District. The Republican is small-business owner Sunder Ramani.

In the special primary, voters will choose among all the candidates, regardless of party affiliation. If, as expected, no one wins a majority April 13, the Democrat with the most votes will face Ramani in a June 8 runoff. That is the same date as the statewide primary election, and all four candidates will be on their party’s ballot then, regardless of the April outcome.

The race has been contentious in the 43rd Assembly District. Teachers aligned with Nahabedian, for example, publicized a letter they sent to Gatto objecting to his description of himself on the ballot as an “educator” (along with “attorney”) because his teaching is limited. His primary occupation is as a lawyer.

Someone else filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission contending Gatto violated election laws by allegedly mixing campaign accounts. The Gatto campaign called the filing “a total red herring” and said it has done nothing wrong. The commission does not comment on possible investigations.

During a candidates forum in which contenders were allowed to question each other, Gatto asked Keuroghelian whether anyone had asked him to get out of the race. In the exchange, posted on YouTube, Keuroghelian said officials including Krekorian and representatives of the Armenian National Committee had met with him and urged him to drop out so he wouldn’t harm Nahabedian’s chances by diluting the district’s substantial Armenian vote.

A spokesman for Krekorian, who has endorsed Nahabedian, vehemently denied Keuroghelian’s account, saying the councilman had met with Keuroghelian “a couple of times” at the candidate’s request.

Leonard Manoukian, co-chairman of the Glendale Chapter of the Armenian National Committee, also disputed Keuroghelian’s account. He said the committee met with all four candidates, solicited information from them and paid to have it published in a local newspaper.

“It just takes away from the whole purpose of this exercise,” Manoukian said of the personal attacks. “Instead of talking about the issues, these guys are going at it hammer and tong.”

That leaves Republican Ramani, 49, of Burbank, hovering outside the fray and trying to expand his base in this strongly Democratic district. His political mailers do not mention his party affiliation. They emphasize the necessity of working in a nonpartisan way to cut taxes and fees on small businesses, eliminating “unfair regulations” that dampen job creation and ensuring there is enough money for schools and law enforcement.

“We are essentially running a nonpartisan campaign,” said John Thomas, Ramani’s strategist. “Given the partisan gridlock in Sacramento, the only way to fix the mess is to work across party lines.”

Backers of Ramani, who has long been active in district business, civic and nonprofit organizations, include Burbank Mayor Gary Bric, the Burbank Police Officers Assn. and the Committee of 100, made up of local business and community leaders.

Gatto, 35, of Silver Lake, worked as Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman’s district director from 1999 to 2004 while earning his law degree at night. He said he is a lifelong resident of the district. He says “getting our fiscal house in order” should be the Legislature’s top priority. He calls for a survey of California’s top employers to keep them doing business in the state.

Gatto’s endorsers include Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Sherman, the California Democratic Party, Glendale Mayor Frank J. Quintero and several other past and current lawmakers and neighborhood organization representatives.

Nahabedian, 40, of Glendale, was elected to the school board in 2007. A former social worker, she teaches at Cal State L.A. She has received strong backing from women’s organizations and fellow educators as well as the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Democratic Rep. Howard L. Berman, among other elected officials.

She promises to work toward ending the two-thirds vote requirement for state budgeting and to fight against further cuts to schools. Nahabedian said she supports tax incentives to keep businesses in the county and will push to protect hillsides and require public utilities to use more renewable energy sources.

Keuroghelian, 52, of Glendale, said the campaign has been “a very troublesome journey for me,” unlike anything he experienced during his three unsuccessful runs for the Glendale City Council.

For example, a letter to voters signed by several women leaders backing Nahabedian says an “additional Armenian candidate” was “recruited . . . for the sole purpose of dividing her ethnic base.” Keuroghelian is the only other ethnic Armenian in the contest.

The letter also alluded to his 2001 criminal conviction for exhibiting a firearm after arguing with his then-wife. He served 30 days under house arrest.

Keuroghelian denied that he was recruited and said he is running to “articulate and advocate the interests of our communities.” He wants to address the budget crisis through “efficient allocation of funds” and supports small and mid-size businesses. He also calls for more housing and wants to protect programs for senior citizens and the disabled.

Besides Burbank and most of Glendale, the district encompasses several Los Angeles communities, including North Hollywood, Atwater Village, Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

Democrats make up about 47% of its 200,168 registered voters; Republicans and voters unaffiliated with any party make up nearly 25% and 24%, respectively.

jean.merl@latimes.com