ACA-PAC Announces Pasadena Endorsements

PASADENA, CA — After a careful evaluation of the candidates and personal interviews, the Armenian Council of America-PAC is pleased to announce the endorsement of Mr. Terry Tornek for Mayor of Pasadena, incumbents Margaret McAustin for Pasadena City Council District 2 and Gene Masuda for Pasadena City Council District 4, both of which are running unopposed, and Roy Boulghourjian for Pasadena Unified School District 2.

Mr. Tornek has lived in Pasadena since 1982, when he accepted the position of Planning Director. Mr. Tornek was the author and leader of the City of Pasadena plan to transform and rehabilitate Old Pasadena, preserving almost 200 historical buildings, which form the historic downtown identity of Pasadena.

After leaving city government, Mr. Tornek built a career in real estate, as a developer and manager of residential and commercial properties. He remained active in Pasadena affairs, through his 20 year service as a Board Member of Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services. In 2005, Mr. Tornek was appointed to the Pasadena Planning Commission. He also served as a member of the Design Commission.

Mr. Tornek was first elected to represent Pasadena City Council District 7 in April, 2009 and re-elected in 2013.

Mr. Tornek currently serves on the Municipal Services and Finance Committees. He is the City Council appointee to the Fire and Police Retirement Board, Pasadena’s representative to the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and is Treasurer of the Burbank Airport Authority. He has been deeply involved in the revisions to the General Plan and in advocacy to redirect the City’s planning and development decision-making process. He has also been pursuing efforts to restructure the City’s traffic management and water conservation practices.

Mr. Tornek has a degree in Public & International Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University’s School of Architecture.

Terry and his wife Maria have been married for 46 years. They have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

Margaret McAustin and Gene Masuda have both served as City Councilmembers and have exemplified their stances on issues of importance to the Armenian American community in Pasadena. These issues include maintaining the integrity and character of our single family residential neighborhoods of Pasadena, fighting crime, decreasing traffic, parking congestion and speeding, protecting open space, improving Pasadena public schools and keeping the commercial areas appealing for investment. Both have maintained a good relationship with their Armenian American constituency and have had an open door policy towards understanding the needs and concerns of the community.

Mr. Roy Boulghourjian has lived in Pasadena since 1985 and has worked as an educator for over 27 years. He started by teaching high school math and economics. He then served as a vice principal and co-founded an early learning school. He currently works as a math and economics professor and serves as the business and general education department Chair at Mt. Sierra College.

The City of Pasadena and Pasadena Unified School District election will be held on March 10, 2015. For more information, and to find your polling place please visit the Pasadena City Clerk’s website.