8 Vie for Council; Pearson Joins Race for College Board

Eight candidates for two seats on the Glendale City Council met the Tuesday filing deadline for the April 2 election, and a city planning commissioner entered the race for the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees.

A ninth council candidate who had taken out nominating papers failed to file them by the deadline, City Clerk Aileen Boyle said. Bo Jaworsky, owner of a secondhand store, had announced last week that he intended to run.

Financial disclosure forms showing the council candidates’ stock and real estate investments were made public Wednesday, with two of the candidates appearing to have substantial holdings.

Eileen Givens and her husband, an investment counselor, jointly own stocks and bonds in 20 corporations, with a total value of at least $250,000, according to Givens’ disclosure form.

Mayor Larry Zarian owns three houses, a three-unit apartment building and a lot in Glendale, and has invested in two downtown office buildings. He also owns a house in Port Hueneme. His disclosure form listed the value of each property at $100,000 or more.

City Council candidates are required by the state Fair Political Practices Commission to file “statements of economic interests” when they turn in their qualifying papers. They are not required to report their incomes.

The candidates will disclose in February and March the campaign contributions they receive, Boyle said.

Givens, 47, is a community activist and longtime Glendale resident. She said she and her husband jointly own stocks and bonds in such companies as Xerox Credit Corp., Home Depot, the Real Estate Investment Trust of California and Walmart Stores.

“We probably were overly open to make sure we met the intent of the law,” Givens said in describing her disclosure form. “I fully disclosed all of those even though I am firmly convinced none of them create any conflict.”

Zarian, who is seeking a third four-year term on the council, said he has been investing in Glendale real estate for 35 years, but has never developed any property.

Bob Torres, a Montrose real estate analyst and president of that community’s Chamber of Commerce, is a part owner of his wife’s law offices, his financial disclosure form said. Mary Ann Prelock, president of the Royal Canyon Property Owners Assn., reported owning stock in Walt Disney Productions and Eastman Kodak Co.

John Beach, a semi-retired data processing supervisor, and Dick Matthews, a retired Carnation Co. executive and former council candidate, reported owning only their own houses and no stock.

Mary Ann Plumley, a realtor and Republican Party activist, said she owns a house in Glendale and a two-unit property in Newport Beach. Shirley Griffin, a marketing consultant and president of a citywide homeowners group who ran unsuccessfully for the council in 1989, reported no investments or real estate holdings.

Councilman Jerold Milner is not seeking reelection.

The candidates will hold several debates before the election. The first, sponsored by Prelock’s homeowners group, will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Oakmont Country Club.

The College Hills Community Assn. and the Glenmore Canyon Homeowners Assn. will hold a candidates forum March 11; a third debate, sponsored by the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council, is scheduled March 15.

In the race for two seats on the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees, Glendale Planning Commission Chairman Don Pearson is challenging incumbents Rae Berry and Robert Holmes.

Berry, 73, a semi-retired businesswoman and La Crescenta resident, and Holmes, 43, a Glendale attorney and part-time Glendale college instructor, are vying for third terms on the board. In 1987, Berry and Holmes soundly defeated Dr. William Schafer, a retired physician.

The incumbents and Pearson, 49, agreed that lack of parking for students and an expected reduction in state funds will be the most pressing issues that the board will face in the next several years.

The college last year had a $57-million budget, including $13 million for campus construction and remodeling, Holmes said. More than 14,000 students have just two small on-campus parking lots, he said.

Pearson, a business and real estate lawyer, said he also wants to focus on improving ties between the city and the college, making the school better known and ensuring that Glendale students are adequately prepared to transfer to four-year schools.

“I give the college high marks, and the current board has performed reasonably well in many respects,” he said. “But I think we have to be open to new opportunities and new challenges.”

Pearson said he is seeking a board seat because he wants to stay in public service after he retires this summer after serving six years on the Planning Commission. Commissioners are appointed and may only serve two three-year terms.

Pearson has had some experience in school governance; he is president of the board of trustees at his children’s private school in La Canada and has taught taxation law at USC, but has had only limited involvement with Glendale College, he said.

But, he said, he believes that his experience as a commissioner can help improve communication and sharing resources between Glendale and the college.

“My experience on the Planning Commission certainly has made me more aware of city government and its effects,” he said.

A third race for two seats on the Glendale Board of Education pits longtime incumbents Sharon Beauchamp and Blanch Greenwood against challengers Robert Burlison, a Glendale attorney, and Peter Musurlian, a field deputy for Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale).

Beauchamp, owner of a Glendale secretarial service, and Greenwood, a church minister’s secretary and community activist, are vying for their fourth and fifth terms, respectively.