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Paul Krekorian

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Paul Krekorian
File:PaulKrekorian.jpg
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 43rd district
Assumed office
December 4 2006
Preceded byDario Frommer
Personal details
Born (1960-03-24) March 24, 1960 (age 64)
San Fernando Valley, California
NationalityUnited States
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Valley Glen, California
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
UC Berkeley, School of Law
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAttorney
WebsitePaul For City Council
Assembly Website

Paul Krekorian (born March 24, 1960, San Fernando Valley, California) is a member of the California State Assembly, and the Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the state's Lower House, representing California's 43rd Assembly District, which includes Atwater Village, Burbank, Glendale, Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Valley Village. He is a Democrat. Krekorian has declared his candidacy for the September 22 special election to fill the Los Angeles City Council seat vacated by Wendy Greuel.

Biography

Paul Krekorian is a third-generation San Fernando Valley Resident. Born and raised in Reseda, his father was a Marine Corps WWII veteran and his mother a North Hollywood native. His father ran a small business on Saticoy in Van Nuys. Krekorian completed his primary education entirely within the Los Angeles Unified School District, graduating from Cleveland High School in the Valley, before attending college in California.[1]

As the first member of his family to attend college, Krekorian enrolled in the University of Southern California, where he first became active in political causes. He worked with then-Assemblyman Tom Bane [2] and, as a student at USC, founded the school’s first Democratic group. He later became the campus organizer for Jerry Brown's 1978 gubernatorial campaign. After graduating with a B.A. in Political Science from USC, Krekorian went on to earn a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. A 1991 graduate of UC Berkeley, Krekorian became an organizer for Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, the latter of which saw Krekorian co-chair the Saxophone Club, the Democratic National Committee's nationwide young professionals group. [3]

Krekorian practiced law as a partner in the firm of Fisher & Krekorian, focusing on business, entertainment and intellectual property litigation. He served on the Board of Trustees of the L.A. County Bar Association, the Board of Trustees of the LA County Law Library, and the California State Legislature’s Task Force on Court Facilities. In the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots that ripped through the city, Krekorian served as counsel to the Webster Commission on the Los Angeles Police Commission and served on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

Krekorian has been praised for his efforts in preserving women’s rights for his pro bono work in the fight against domestic violence,[4] and a program he developed for at-risk youth, called GenerationNext. Krekorian currently lives in Valley Glen with his wife, Tamar and their three children: Hrag, Andrew and Lori.

Political career

Burbank School Board

Krekorian was elected to the Burbank School Board as serving as President of that city’s educational group in 2003. Under Krekorian’s leadership, the district was able to resolve its most pressing budget problems, saving many educational programs and vital jobs, while still paring down administrative costs. During his tenure, the district significantly improved student attendance and performance, increased teacher pay, launched the Burbank Priority in Education Foundation, and encouraged student nutrition and exercise. Concurrently, Krekorian served as President of the Five Star Education Coalition, a consortium of five suburban school districts that worked to shape state and federal education policy.

State Assembly

Krekorian was elected to the 43rd district of the California State Assembly in 2006, aided by an endorsement from the Los Angeles Times.[5] During his first term in office, Krekorian owned one of the best records in the Assembly with the highest number of bills signed into law by any freshman legislator.[6]. In 2008, he was tapped by Speaker Karen Bass to be the Assistant Majority Floor Leader to "play a key role in all major policy initiatives." [7]

Krekorian serves as co-chair of the Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee with the intent to increase transparency, enforce campaign finance reform and reduce lobby influence. [8]. He also has a wide range of other assignments, including membership on the Accountability and Administrative Review committee, which helps identify the best saving mechanisms for the state; the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media committee, whose jurisdictions are programs and policies affecting a range of art, athletic and electronic programs; the Judiciary committee, the committee on Local Government, which looks after some of the state’s administrative issues and the Utilities and Commerce committee, whose primary jurisdictions are public utilities.[9]

During his first term and after re-election in 2008, Krekorian pursued legislation to improve the state’s environment, reduce crime and increase government responsiveness.

Government Accessibility and Responsiveness

In 2006, Krekorian created the “Government at Your Doorstep” program in which staff members knocked on 3,000 doors in his Assembly District. In response to complaints about speeding, graffiti and noise pollution, Krekorian and staff members in his office acted to alleviate concerns throughout his district.[10]

As the state battled to pass a balanced budget in early 2009, Krekorian authored a historic bill to ensure media production in California stays local. His bill, which for the first time in state history offered tax incentives for film and television production to stem the tide of runaway production, drew immediate praise from economists,media and others. Jack Kyser, the Chief Economist for LA County Economic Development Corporation said of the legislation, “Businesses will begin to see a boost at the end of the year and into the beginning of 2010 as program participants begin to spend locally.” He predicted the incentive plan would help spur a rebound in local economies.[11] The legislation uses tax incentives to encourage filming locally.[12] Launched July 1, 2009, the five-year program offers $100 million annually in tax credits that approved producers can begin claiming on their 2011 income tax returns. Local business leaders see those numbers translating into jobs for an area hit hard by runaway film production, labor strife and the recession in general.[13]

As of late August, the California Film Commission allocated nearly $67.5 million in tax credits for 25 film and television productions of the total $100 million pot for the year. The effect is estimated to infuse as much as $347 million into state coffers. As part of the three-part measure, the legislation also includes an economic stimulus measure that encourages small business to add jobs to their payrolls.

Environment

Krekorian’s legislative priorities also included a series of environmental legislation that introduced strict restrictions on plastic pollution in ocean run-off, expanding renewable energy generation for California public utilities and reduced carbon emissions. During the 2008 Legislative Session, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass selected Krekorian to lead a three-member working group that will find ways to accelerate California’s adoption of renewable power. The Renewable Portfolio Standard working group, has been working with environmentalists, labor groups, utilities, electricity generators and others to ensure that California generates innovative policy and establishes world-leadership in development of renewable resources. The working group’s legislative arm is the potentially landmark AB64 which requires utility companies to get 1/3 of their energies from renewable sources by the year 2020. Krekorian also wrote AB2153, ‘The Water Efficiency and Security Act,’ aimed at improving the critical water situation that California continues to face. It requires that new developments must be water efficient and decreases per capita water usage.[14] AB2153 has been endorsed by the Planning and Conservation League and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water.[15]

Public Safety

Public safety has also been a high priority for Krekorian, who has worked closely with local police departments to reduce gang violence, speeding and crime in his district and the state. In his first term, Krekorian’s Weapons and Ammunition Nuisance Abatement Act of 2007 gave apartment owners greater latitude to evict tenants who harbor guns and ammo. That year, Krekorian also introduced and got passed a bill to that encourages participation with federal authorities to siphon off the state’s stock of weapons. The bill passed unanimously and gave way to this term’s ‘Disarming Convicted Criminals’ bill, which establishes a clear timeline for timely firearm relinquishment.

Campaign for Los Angeles City Council

On July 10th 2009, Krekorian officially announced his candidacy to fill the vacant seat for Los Angeles City Council’s Second District. The primary election was held on September 22nd, where Krekorian placed first with 34% of the vote. A run-off is scheduled for December 8th. Krekorian has been endorsed by a number of public safety, environmental and Democratic groups. His endorsements include: the Los Angeles Daily News[16], the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City[17] the Los Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club[18] and the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley, who unanimously backed Krekorian. Agi Kessler, chair of the Democratic group, said they have never voted 57-0 to endorse anyone in their history. "Paul's long record of action and representation led all of us to believe that he will be ready to face the challenges on Day One to improve the Valley," Kessler said. "We ... are willing to do all we can to ensure Paul is our city councilman."[19] Krekorian has also garnered support from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, Latino Young Democrats of the San Fernando Valley the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.

References

  1. ^ "About Paul". Paul Krekorian for City Council. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  2. ^ "About Paul". Paul Krekorian for City Council. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  3. ^ "About Paul". Paul Krekorian for City Council. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  4. ^ California NOW (11 May 2006). "California NOW Circulates Poll Results Paul Krekorian Winning with Education Message". Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Times Editorial Board (1 May 2006). "State Assembly: Feuer, Krekorian, Murray, Eng". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-27. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Zain Shauk (21 July 2009). "Q&A: Paul Krekorian". Glendale News Press. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Rick Orlov (04 December 2008). "Krekorian named Assistant Majority Floor Leader". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Press Release (05 February 2009). "Assemblymember Paul Krekorian Appointed to Help Lead Ethics Committee". Daily News. Retrieved 2009-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Assembly biography (06 September 2009). "Assembly biography". Retrieved 2009-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Asbarez Staff (14 July 2009). "Paul Krekorian Announces LA City Council Run". Asbarez News. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  11. ^ Zain Shuak (28 July 2009). "Film Tax Breaks Start". Glendale News Press. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Kimber Liponi (28 July 2009). "Runaway Productions Do A U-Turn". MSNBC. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Bob Strauss (28 July 2009). "Film, TV projects lie up for $67.5 million in incentives". LA Daily News. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Lester Snow (11 April 2008). "Conserving California's Water". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Mindy McIntyre (04 April 2009). "Dampening Growth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ LA Daily News (20 October 2009). "Council pick: Paul Krekorian is the best choice for Los Angeles City Council District 2". LA Daily News. Retrieved 2009-10-21. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Daily News Wire Services (13 July 2009). "Krekorian gets LA Dems Endorsement for Council". LA Daily News. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ Joe B. (21 August 2009). "Sierra Club Endorses Krekorian". Mayor Sam's Sister City. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ Daily News Wire Services (4 August 2009). "SFV Democrats endorse Krekorian for council seat". LA Daily News. Retrieved 2009-08-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
California Assembly
Preceded by California State Assemblyman, 43rd District
2006 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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