Los Angeles Council President Krekorian on his Armenian roots

BY ANNA ALBARYAN

In his 12-year tenure at City Hall, Council President Paul Krekorian has had many firsts – but the one he’s particularly proud of, he says, is being the first-ever Armenian American to hold public office in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia itself

There are approximately 240,000 Armenians living in Los Angeles according to the latest Census data

Paul Krekorian is the first, and so far, only Armenian American elected to serve on the LA City Council

Krekorian has helped pass a number of motions at City Hall to benefit the Armenian immigrant community in his district and beyond

“We’ve been present here in Los Angeles well over a century and a quarter, and in all that time, there’s never been a member of the Armenian American community elected into any office in the city of Los Angeles,” said Council President Krekorian. “So it’s important to be the first but more important than that, is to make sure that I’m not the last.”

Krekorian stepped into the role of council president at a tumultuous time for the city, wrought with scandal. Though challenging, he says, the council was able to turn a page and continue working for their constituents.

Krekorian says ethics reform became his top priority once he assumed the role. He was key in getting the vote to appoint an independent redistricting committee on the November ballot. But critics say a host of other ethics reform measures, that include limiting the power of the Council President, remain stalled in City Hall under his leadership.

One area where the council president hasn’t wavered is in his fierce stance against Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Armenians in Artsakh last year.

“Mayor Bass and I personally came together and wrote to President Biden… again, demanding, pleading, for help for the people of Artsakh,” Krekorian said in an August 2023 news conference.

Most recently, Krekorian announced that Los Angeles will get its own TUMO center in North Hollywood — a tuition-free after-school program founded by Armenians in Yerevan, that focuses on technology and the arts for teens.

Ed Barsoumian attended the announcement ceremony. He leads coalition and community development for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), a grassroots political organization based in Washington D.C., which advocates for this type of representation.

Barsoumian says this center is just another example of what can be done in a city full of immigrants, when they have a voice in local government.

“It’s extremely important that every community, including the Armenian American community, feels represented because we have to feel like we’re part of the broader, beautiful tapestry that we have joined,” Barsoumian said.

“Many of us have been forcibly displaced through genocide, some have sought economic opportunity, so when you come to a new country and set down your roots, it’s a fundamental aspect to, of course, ensure that you are equally represented in public office.”

A sentiment that the council president says he shares, and hopes is a driving force for Angelenos, to exercise their vote in these upcoming elections.

“Representation matters and we need to make sure that all of the voices that make up the fabric of this country are heard and respected.”

And for Krekorian, that includes the voices of more than 200-thousand Armenian Americans, across the greater Los Angeles region.