Vartan Gharpetian has had a tough week on the dais at Glendale City Council.
He didn't have enough time to read the staff report on updating the building electrification ordinance for new construction, so he wasted everyone's time asking questions and casting doubt on climate change and city staff. [City reports are always posted publicly in advance of the meetings, you can find them all here - someone tell Vartan!]
Despite numerous amounts of data from the consultants and city officials in charge of updating the ordinance, Gharpetian is against building electrification. Why save builders money when you can double down on ignoring people? At one point in the meeting, Vartan demands that City staff tell him "how much of the atmosphere is greenhouse gas," at which point fellow councilmember Dan Brotman can be heard laughing in disbelief.
Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian stops to read out to Vartan what greenhouse gases are and how they cause climate change.
Vartan then pivots to "nobody is questioning the science" (um what that's literally what you're doing, sir) and "this is the problem [...] you can't ask a question." Pretty sure the problem is that you are asking dumb questions and then getting mad when your colleagues point that out, but go off, sis!
Earlier in his remarks, Vartan says he is against building electrification because "most greenhouse gas comes from vehicles." This may be a clue into the actual motivation behind his opposition...
But Vartan is ALSO against Glendale's 20-year master bike plan, which would encourage alternatives to cars in order to reduce pollution and increase road safety. Vartan is ALSO against the pedestrian/bike path along the Verdugo Wash. We'll all just have to suck exhaust until Vartan loses his seat! Despite Vartan's no vote with his fellow Pollution Bro Ara Najarian, the master bike plan will go to council for a final vote later this year.
The Wash is still TBD. Vartan (who admits he lives "about 300 yards from the wash") is going to "fight tooth and nail" against the City Attorney for saying he has a conflict of interest in this vote.
Recently discovered YouTube clips from 2022 posted to Gharpetian's YouTube account show him taking his vintage 1972 BMW Baur for a very fast spin through residential streets in the Verdugo Woodlands and Montrose. It appears that his wife, former School Board member Armina Gharpetian, is sitting in the passenger seat filming her husband as he speeds up and around Opechee, Hermosita Way, forcing pedestrians to the side.
ED: As of 8pm on August 26th, Vartan Gharpetian has turned all of his videos private. HOWEVER, we managed to download the videos for your viewing pleasure. The internet is forever!
A second video has him speeding North on Verdugo Blvd towards La Crescenta Avenue. This last bit is the very stretch of road Vartan opposes for a traffic-calming project.
Here Vartan Gharpetian is in his Jaguar appearing to hold his phone with one hand and drive with the other while he records himself driving up to 50 mph in a 35 mph zone past a school and a park.
Vartan should invite fellow anti-pedestrian fan Andrew Zadourian for a joyride!(Just give us a warning first!)
Could these joyrides in gas-guzzling imported cars be why Vartan Gharpetian is opposed to any pedestrian safety upgrades in Glendale? In another video, Vartan has at least 3 cars parked in his driveway.
Based on publicly available internet records, it appears that Vartan bought his BMW in spring 2020, when the rest of us were dealing with a pandemic lockdown. Very cool guy!
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