Talk about a real nail biter.

Steve and I spent election evening between the Measure S camp at the Overtime Bar & Grill in Glendale and with John Drayman supporters across the street at the Hilton.

Soon after the polls closed it was apparent Measure S was going to pass and the crowd over at Overtime was ready to celebrate. A lot of hard work by bond measure supporters went into ensuring its success and it was great to see Mary Boger, Superintendent Dick Sheehan, Greg Krikorian, Harry Hull and Rebecca Delfino toast its passage.

Mary Boger had more to celebrate when it was clear that she secured her seat on the school board. Nayiri Nahabedian will also be retaining her seat on the board of education.

Over at the Drayman camp, it was a bit more tense as the numbers started rolling in. Civic leaders including Sharon Raghavachary, Bill and Sharon Weisman, Mary and Dale Dawson, Dave & Jennifer Myers, Mike and Patricia Morgan, Alyce and Tom Russell and fellow councilmembers Laura Friedman and Ara Najarian were on hand to offer support.

Few final decisions were had by the end of Tuesday night in the race for the two seats on the Glendale City Council. Apparently an additional two to three thousand provisional and drop in mailing votes have yet to be tallied. As of Wednesday it appears that returning councilmember Rafi Manoukian has soundly claimed his spot on the dais. But with a mere 27 votes separating them, it is unknown as to whether John or Dave Weaver will be returning to council chambers.

All results are unofficial until they are certified by the City Clerk and presented to the City Council on April 18.

Regardless of the outcome, I know that I speak for many, maybe especially in the foothill community, when I say thank you to John for his years of service. Not only did he bring civility to the council but he was perhaps the first Glendale city councilman who came from the foothill area and understood the sometimes unique problems and concerns that we have.

Like many, I will be checking every day until those provisionals are counted to see how it shakes out.

And if it turns out that indeed John steps down, it may just mean a hiatus for the Montrose native. There’s always another election in four years when he can reclaim his seat – just ask Rafi Manoukian.

  Campaigns, elections, robin goldsworthy