A week after Zareh Sinanyan admitted responsibility for the hateful online comments first reported here nearly two months ago, he finally publicly apologized for the content of those comments at last night's City Council meeting:
“I apologize to anyone who might have been offended by my past comments. I am truly sorry. Many have said they look forward to my future performance, and as I have said many times, my performance will speak for itself. When I appeared before the council as a candidate and addressed the subject of these blog posts, I explained that they were not me, they were not reflective of my character. That was true then, just as it is now. I am here to serve the people of Glendale. All of the people. It truly does not matter to me if you are Armenian, or Latino, or Anglo, or Korean; it doesn’t matter if you’re gay, or straight. And it doesn’t matter if you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu. As my life experiences have demonstrated, the only thing that matters to me is that I want to serve Glendale. Working together to improve our homes is who I am. That is reflective of my character, and I fully welcome and invite people to use this standard to measure my success and effort.”
Good apology; it's frankly amazing he didn't give it two months ago instead of attacking and obfuscating. The apology begins at approximately minute 32 of last night's meeting.
25 comments:
Mr. Sinanyan"s apology is a day late and a dollar short.
Thank you Mr. Sinanyan for your courage after the fact. You lied and you won the election. What kind of example does Mr. Sinanyan"s behavior set?
Mr. Sinanyan"s resignation from the Council would be welcomed.
If life were just and fair, Mr. Sinanyan would also be subject to disbarment proceedings.
Amen to that at 1:53
Are you insane, disbarment for cussing?
Who cares about the apology? This guy lied to get what he wanted and will do it again.
you all are even worse than him, acting like you guys are perfect. Accept his apology and move on with your lives. The whole point of this is trying to make Glendale a better place. Set aside the issue and focus on things that are tangible and actually matter (like an increase in water rates, multiple pot holes, GUSD high school graduation rates, etc). You guys all find it easy to talk against someone, but how about trying to forgive someone? His comments were very vulgar and inappropriate, but did you ever look back at your comments? Bullying a councilmember won't get you anywhere. He has 4 children, disbarment for cussing doesn't even logically make sense.
The comments were only the beginning and HE chose not to end it. Had he handled it appropriately back then it would have never been an issue beyond an immature jerk screwing around on- line to the amusement of his jerk peers. But he didn't do that. He spun lies and conspiracy theories and subterfuge and redirect. He was elected by way of those lies and fraud. He continued to lie when the people he was elected to represent approached him with their concerns. He finally admitted to the comments but never apologized for them. He never apologized for lying about them. He never apologized for slinging mud at everyone he blamed for them. This is not a man, and this is not a leader, this is a little boy who sucks his thumb while everyone else scrambles. What he has proven to Glendale is that his own self-interest matters more than the people he serves.
The commenter at 7:17 is absolutely correct. Those - like commenter at 6:19 - that think that people concerned with this man's behavior are a bigger problem than the man himself are totally disconnected from reality. If Sinanyan indeed truly cares about making the city a better place, stepping down is the only believable gesture available to him. Otherwise he has displayed NOTHING of the type of character or leadership needed to make decisions about the future of this city. A city that is facing some pretty significant challenges. Glendale residents should rally for change.
At least 30 percent of Glendale's population is seriously racist and homophobic. Even though Zareh is not a homophobe, the constant attacks by those who claim they represent the gay community of Glendale may end up helping Zareh There is still a part of Glendale that misses John Wayne, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, not Ru Paul, Tom Ammiano and Jackie Goldberg.
I've posted several times about my disgust with Zareh's comments, but it's really starting to get old now.
Yeah, the guy got elected under false pretenses, but the whining really needs to stop as it's not contributing anything to the wellbeing of the city.
Also, it should be noted that anyone with an understanding of YouTube/Internet commenting would know that what people put out on forums (YouTube in particular) should be taken with a giant grain of salt. Is Zareh Sinanyan a racist homophobe? Maybe.. I don't know. A much more plausible theory is that he's a troll with bad judgement (every good troll knows that you never remove the veil of anonymity.)
I basically agree with 2:58. I've thought about it a lot. I also think it's going to get worse before it gets better and I worry about how that will affect Glendale. Even though this has been going on for two months, the TV news is just starting to pay attention (it was on CBS last night), so the general public is just now becoming aware of this. "Councilmember Wrote A Bunch of Racist Comments" is just a bigger story than "City Council Candidate Linked to Racist Comments."
I don't think an admission and apology early on would have affected the final outcome of the election. Despite his faults, the losing candidates just ran weaker and more disorganized campaigns than Zareh. I believe his divisive response hurt his campaign far more than an immediate apology would have. I think it was a bad decision made out of fear and the consequences are just becoming apparent now.
And while Zareh certainly deserves heat for both the comments and the way he responded, he shouldn't be hounded to the ends of the earth if he sincerely tries to make things right. He's now apologized for the comments, and he should absolutely apologize for his response. He owes Laura Friedman a huge apology, he owes Ara Najarian (who gave him an opportunity to quietly resign his commission seat instead of bringing the comments before the council) a huge apology, and he owes me an apology. He should reach out to his critics and ask what he can do to represent them. It's in his own interest, it would defuse the situation, and it's just the right thing to do.
Scott, respectfully: you've two opposing ideas in your comment.
"he shouldn't be hounded to the ends of the earth if he sincerely tries to make things right." versus the apologies you rightfully state he STILL owes. The "if" in the first part is exactly the point. This guy is being hounded for what he STILL hasn't done, even by your own admission. Every attempt he makes to resolve this is minimal, half-baked, and incomplete. Thus, he continues to get hounded, and rightfully SHOULD until he FINISHES this. Sinanyan is engaging in the most minimal reparation necessary to get everyone off his back, and the minute we ease off him for the gaps he will think it a done deal and that will be the end of it. It's exactly right that everyone keep the pressure on, it is the only reason he's apologized at all. Keep the pressure on until he either gets it right or leaves.
Friedman has moved on, Gatto was never openly involved. The Glendale gays who claim they are against him didn't get involved until he was elected. I think the long term strategy for gays who want to change Glendale into a more tolerant community is to work with Zareh and his supporters. Hate against Zareh will backfire, because it appears so petty and small.
That's politics.
Anonymous 905, that is the most foolish thing. A city councilman can help LBGTs, women and latinos by resigning? There are many positive causes Zareh can work for. LBJ was allied with racist democrats but he ended up getting the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed. If the Glendale LBGT community has any agenda, they can use this event to move it forward. There are many options besides resignation.
Anonymous, 216 am., What more is Zareh supposed to do? He has already created some milestones. His old comments dug up from over half a decade ago have brought gay rights to the center of Glendale politics. Does Glendale police even have any openly gay officers? LA does. Does Glendale have a human rights commission? No. Does Glendale have a gay city council person. No. Does Glendale have a gay parade?
One of the most beloved politicians in the Armenian American community was openly gay Congressman Barney Frank. ANC gave Barney an "A+" endorsement and donated a lot of money to his campaigns. They love Frank. There's a lot of room for healing and reconciliation. Do we need to have Barney visit Glendale to make peace? Let's embrace the love, not the hate.
sure, now that he got elected... (by the Armenian community which really did not mind his comments at all. he's not a "troll", his comments are just what people say behind closed doors)
i'm sure he's sorry he got CAUGHT
to 12:16am:
You're absolutely right that the "if" in "if he tries to make things right" is the point. *If* he continues to take responsibility and reaches out to repair the divisions caused by his response, I'm willing to take him at his word that those ugly words and sentiments are not truly representative of him, and, as he asks, to measure him by his future actions and not what was said in the past.
Past is often prologue..
Re: 6:10 a.m. I LOVE a parade!
Scott, much more important youtubes videos is Arlen's transmission. Please make a blog about that. It maybe in Burbank, but the shift it videos soul is Glendale.
Someone please start a recall petition!!!
How does one start a recall?
We are so much more than the worst things we have done. I'm saddened that Zareh didn't disclose any of this BEFORE he won the seat, but I'm ready to move on. He's said his apologies; now it's time that he proves himself with his actions.
Let him prove himself and get elected with all the facts in the constituents hands, and not pit one segment of the community against another.
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