nairakev Posted May 30, 2001 Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 Glendale's Mayor faces relaunch of recall signature campaign for disrespect to US flag.An article from DailyNews.com website. ---------------------------------------- Recall leaders set to relaunch drive Daily News-------------URL: http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/050...01/30/new22.asp 30.05.2001 GLENDALE -- Supporters of a campaign to recall Mayor Gus Gomez will relaunch their signature drive Thursday.Recall leader Joe Mandoky said Tuesday he will be collecting signatures from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., near Brand and Colorado boulevards between the National Guard Armory and the Elks Lodge. Last week, City Clerk Doris Twedt rejected a recall notice bearing more than 350 signatures because the petition incorrectly asked for signatories' voter registration address rather than their current address. Gomez is the target of a recall campaign because Mandoky felt the mayor showed disrespect to the U.S. flag by ordering it lowered to commemorate the Armenian genocide in April. Mandoky had originally announced he would start collecting signatures on Memorial Day in front of the veterans memorial at City Hall, but delayed the plan out of consideration for commemoration events planned there. Election law requires 100 valid signatures for a recall notice. Mandoky plans to serve the notice on the mayor at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairakev Posted May 30, 2001 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2001 It happens in the small californian town in LA area, where the Armenian population is supposed to be 1/3 of the town population. If my figure is inaccurate (I appologise). But that's not the point. The point is that Glendale is well-known among Armenian diaspora, where we have been told to have an influential armenian lobby. Do you call this lobbying? May be instead of lobbying they should have tried first to talk to their neighbours. I think Glendale citizens have no idea about problems and revandications of their armenian neighbours. In France, which is considered to be one of Europe's biggest neo-nazi mediatised states (special thanks to Le Pen), no skeen-head or "lepenist" tried to drive signature campaign, because France had legislatively recognised the fact of Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. I read here in our forums that the state of California had passed a similar resolution by putting its engagement to commemorate the day of the Beginning of the Armenian Genocide the 24th of April. I don't know if the Mayor did something illegal by ordering to lower the U.S. flag to commemorate the Armenian genocide in April. I've heard that by lowering the flag United States mostly commemorate the national days of "mourning" or commemoration. If it is a fact that the U.S. National tradition, or California State tradition, commemorates national days of commemoration by lowering the U.S. flag, it means that this whole campaign for recalling the Mayor Gus Gomez is a "rediculous farse" which is raised and inspired by american ultra-nationalists or neo-nazis. In States you have got a bunch of those so-called "patriotic" organisations, movements and even parties, who did not succeed yet to beat French Le Pen, neither Austrian Heider. But by watching actually some news stories from the U.S. sometimes I've got the feeling that they are close to succeeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilafhead Posted May 31, 2001 Report Share Posted May 31, 2001 quote:Originally posted by naira:It happens in the small californian town in LA area, where the Armenian population is supposed to be 1/3 of the town population. If my figure is inaccurate (I appologise). But that's not the point. But THAT IS part of the point. We've had people in Glendale say, "Why not lower the flag for the Jewish Holocaust, the Irish Potato Famine, etc.?" The answer is because Glendale is about 25% Armenian and is a globally significant place for Armenians. Glendale is not significant for Jews, Irish, Chinese or anyone else except we Armenians. I recently had a letter in the Glendale paper talking about this very issue. quote:Originally posted by naira:May be instead of lobbying they should have tried first to talk to their neighbours. I think Glendale citizens have no idea about problems and revandications of their armenian neighbours. You are right here. There is a big divide between alot of the jermags and the Armenians. But part of the reason is Glendale has a long history of being a white, close-minded community. When I was younger, there were neo-nazi problems here. The people publicly complaining about the lowering of the flag just don't like Armenians and foreigners, I am convinced of that.By the way, welcome to the forum!!!MikeP.S. Here's The Letter quote:May5th Glendale News-Press:Many of the letters regarding the lowering of the flag in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide seem to miss the significance of the Armenian population of Glendale. It is beyond simply being an enclave of a (vocal) minority. Glendale has the highest concentration of Armenians in a single city outside of Armenia. Therefore, Glendale is globally significant to Armenians. So, while the "getting Germany to lower its flag for Chinese New Year" analogy is a clever one, we have a distinct difference here in our city. If we were as internationally significant to any other ethnic group, I could easily see a similar gesture for them one day out of the year. Both my father and my father-in-law served in the military. I had uncles who fought in both the European and Pacific fronts of World War II, and my wife's heritage traces back to the founding of America. And like many of you, I said the Pledge of Allegiance everyday in grammar school. I do not see the lowering of the flag as a desecration, nor disrespect to those that served for the rest of us. In fact, I see it as almost a nonissue; simply a city recognizing the fact that it is significant in the current-day history of Armenians. [ May 30, 2001: Message edited by: Aghmug ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairakev Posted May 31, 2001 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2001 quote:Originally posted by Aghmug:[ May 30, 2001: Message edited by: Aghmug ]The answer is because Glendale is about 25% Armenian and is a globally significant place for Armenians. Glendale is not significant for Jews, Irish, Chinese or anyone else except we Armenians. I recently had a letter in the Glendale paper talking about this very issue.When I've been in NY. The city was having Hannukah as it was National holliday.In fact there are many holidays in the USA (from state to state, from city to city, it depends) which were borrowed from specific ethnic community's calendar.For me the question is if by this exception, in the way this city had comemmorated the April 24th, did break the law. By lowering the National flag. Did Glendale Town Hall break the federal or state legislation. If not, then the whole "talk" turns arround the ethic issues. In that case, one should see how US comemmorates Jewish Holocaust.UK comemmorated the Holocaust as well this year on the 27th January (but for the first time). I don't know if they had lowered the national flag.[ May 31, 2001: Message edited by: naira ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairakev Posted May 31, 2001 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2001 nice to see you too, Mike [ May 31, 2001: Message edited by: naira ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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