At the February 16, 2021 City Council Meeting, Councilmember Dan Brotman made comments directly to the viewing public regarding motives behind the ‘Winegate’ fiasco orchestrated by Ara Najarian. This video includes his statement directed to the citizens of Glendale.
Mr. Brotman informs us that some with commercial developer interests are displeased with the higher standards Francesca Smith brings to the Design Review Board. Apparently, her recent inclusion seems to have hampered a DRB process known to churn out commercial development, often at the expense of local residents’ quality of life conditions.
Mr. Brotman also reveals Mayor Agajanian’s behind-the-scenes participation in Councilmember Najarian’s political attack. This included an offer to (possibly) avert a political spectacle in exchange for Ms. Smith’s resignation. Mr. Brotman refused to be bullied. So, Councilmember Najarian continued to pursue Ms. Smith’s resignation with a motion to include ‘Winegate’ on the Council Agenda.
“But changes to the status quo tend to upset people. Especially people with developer friends that are used to getting a free pass. How do I know this is what it’s about? Because I got a call from the mayor [Agajanian] threatening me with a hearing, suggesting that I ask Francesca to resign. He literally called me to say that one of my colleagues, which I assumed was Mr. Najarian, planned to raise the issue. And, suggested that if I get rid of Francesca, maybe it wouldn’t happen.“
It appears that Mayor Agajanian was doing Councilmember Najarian’s bidding throughout the entire manufactured “scandal.” Vrej Agajanian served Ara Najarian like a secretary, delivering messages and making phone calls. At City Council meetings, he was quick to second Councilmember Najarian’s motions, and loyally duplicated his votes. Instead of acting as a leader from the beginning, and avoiding a colossal display of ugliness and waste of time, Mayor Agajanian took the role of subservient sidekick to Councilmember Najarian.
Mr. Agajanian’s weakness was further highlighted by suggesting to Mr. Brotman that a hearing could be avoided by fearfully capitulating to the desires of Ara Najarian. His attempt to deliver the bully-by-proxy threat implies that he felt that the public exposure would be a big enough motivator to manipulate Mr. Brotman. It also indicates that Mayor Agajanian harbors some fear of Ara Najarian.
At City Council meetings Mr. Agajanian frequently depends on Mr. Najarian for direction on handling the duties of a mayor. Despite his years on Council, Mayor Agajanian demonstrates that he is not familiar with its most routine procedures. And, in light of Mr. Agajanian’s frequent unpreparedness for meetings, and obvious lack of conviction, it’s possible that he relies on Mr. Najarian for policy direction as well.
Rarely does Mayor Agajanian fail to mention that at one time he was an (unspecified kind of) “engineer.” However, he has failed to engineer even one good original idea, and consistently fails to bring any insightful facts to the discussion of various issues presented to Council.
He may be a very competent and entertaining television personality, but he is not a very competent public servant. Perhaps the next resignation that Mr. Agajanian contemplates should be his own.
Recent Comments