The Armenian Sentinel

1. Awareness of Armenians Rising

By Ardashes Kassakhian

Glendale, CA--The Southern California Armenian-American community has become the battleground in the United States for the Diaspora's causes. Up until early last year the Armenian-American community advanced its causes through the two main Armenian advocacy groups, the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The two organizations achieved significant respect and accomplished the seemingly impossible task of bringing national attention to the issue of Genocide recognition.

Today, the Armenian-American community has achieved the next step toward actual political strength. Aside from having access to elected officials, the Armenian community in the Unites Sates has grown to a significant voter bloc. The large community in Southern California numbers well over 300,000 with most residing in Los Angeles county. A third of this community is centralized in the 27th U.S. Congressional District currently represented by Rep. James E. Rogan.

As the community grows in numbers so does the number of people becoming citizens. As more citizens register to vote their voice will become a more important force in the political arena. Politicians on every level have noticed this force and in the last two years have begun paying particular attention to the needs of the Armenian voters.

Paul Krekorian, an attorney and former LA City Ethics Commissioner, became the first State legislative candidate in California history to mail out a mass campaign piece in both Armenian and English to introduce Armenian voters to his agenda and candidacy during his bid for the 43rd California State Assembly Seat. Krekorian made this concerted effort to have a grass-roots campaign to educate and inform first time voters about the electoral process. Craig Missakian, another attorney and former criminal prosecutor with the District Attorney's office also courted the Armenian vote and won the Republican party's nomination in March. Missakian's nomination and the aggressive manner in which other candidates have courted the Armenian vote may be the telltale signs of even more attention and focus on Armenian issues in the near future.

Missakian's and Krekorian's mailers, television ads and efforts to encourage Armenian voter turnout demonstrated two points. First, the Armenians were recognized as a significant force in a close political race. Second, the accessibility to the Armenian community is limited due in large part to the inexperience the community has with the political process. The true test remains in the November elections.

Either way, with these recent encouraging developments the dream of having an actual Armenian-American political power base like the Latino, Jewish, African-American and other minority communities can become a reality, even if only on a local level, and the interests of the Armenian-American community can be steadily advanced.

*** Kassakhian holds a BA in history from UCLA and is an alumnus of the UCLA Center for American Politics and Public Policy. He was a volunteer coordinator for Rafi Manoukian's Glendale City Council campaign and was Paul Krekorian's campaign manager. He also was a founding member of Armenian Students for Dole in '96

The Armenian Sentinel
P.O.Box 1902
Glendale, CA 91209-1902
818-725-2924,
info@armeniansentinel.org
©Copyright 2000 -The Armenian Sentinel