Hello, voters! I’m an economics professor, a father of two, a community advocate, and as of two years ago, I am one of your elected Glendale City Councilmembers. I live in the beautiful Niodrara Historic District just north of Glendale College, and I, like you, can proudly say that I love Glendale.

I’ve been fortunate. I had the privilege to grow up in a secure environment. I attended Brown University as an undergraduate and Johns Hopkins as a graduate student. I found good jobs in banking and finance, including a long stint with a large US tech company, setting up and running a customer finance operation in Asia. I watched my two girls grow to maturity. I had a supportive spouse who allowed me to focus on climbing the corporate ladder.

About ten years ago, I decided it wasn’t enough helping a big company expand as fast as possible. I needed something more personally fulfilling. I needed to give back. So I threw away the steady paycheck and reliable health plan and reinvented myself–first as a teacher of history and economics at a private school in China, then as an economics professor at Glendale College, and more recently as an advocate for the environment and a City Councilmember. I’ve never for one second regretted it.

Entering politics was never part of my game plan. But the City’s insistence on replacing an old gas plant with even more fossil fuels forced me to organize a push for clean energy alternatives. The effort proved to be successful, and the aftermath was a groundswell in favor of new, more contemporary approaches to old problems.

I am known as a change agent who is not afraid to disrupt. Whether it’s environmental and fiscal sustainability; development that accommodates change while protecting historic neighborhoods; our traffic safety crisis; rising crime; mounting housing costs and homelessness, or the challenge of our aging roads; black-out prone electric grid, and other infrastructure, I will continue to apply my analytic approach to find creative and cost-effective solutions to the challenges we face.

I have a deep love for humanity in all its varied forms. I believe every person deserves a roof over their head and access to basic education, healthcare, and nutrition. We all are better when the least well off among us are provided for. I also believe we are responsible for leaving behind a better world than the one we inherited. No unpaid debts, either financial or environmental. We have the brains and energy to be among the greatest cities in California, and to lead by example. I believe this great city needs leaders that have the capacity and fortitude to drive change. As someone who has been pushing for change both initially from the outside and now from the inside, I know what that means.

Join our ever-growing movement. Host a coffee, make some calls, knock on some doors. Together, through our collaboration and our disruptive efforts, we can continue to push our Jewel City into the direction it needs to go as it develops into a city of the future.

Occidental College B.A.

U.S.C. J.D.

Four term Mayor

Chairman Metrolink

Chairman elect LA. Metro

A California certified engineer for 40 years, I worked as a professional engineer, serving as project engineer for the San Diego Naval Medical Center. I promoted STEM education as the former president of the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America and supported youth charity projects as a former board member and current member of KIWANIS Club of Glendale for the past 16 years. 

I have dedicated my career to informing my community. President of two television stations operating in Glendale and broadcast across southern california; one of which is dedicated to the promotion of the arts; I have been the host of a nightly news program for over two decades, informing the public on the City of Glendale as well as U.S and international news.

When City Hall closed its doors during the pandemic I remained the single council member to keep my office open to the Public, providing free resources for the residents of the City of Glendale, even during the closing of City Hall at the peak of the pandemic.

 Elected to the Glendale City Council in 2017, I was trusted by my fellow council members to lead us in an extraordinary crisis as Mayor of Glendale during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. We led relief  efforts by providing over a thousand of our most vulnerable seniors with $300 monthly payments  for two years, and provided $5,000 to keep over a thousand struggling small businesses afloat. 

Just a few changes I brought to the City of Glendale include increasing affordable housing by 507 affordable housing units in 2 years, approximately a 40% increase from only 1,268 affordable  housing units built in the past 44 years. In 2019, we achieved my campaign promise of rent stabilization to keep Glendale residents in their homes and in their city and dedicated 15% of all large-scale building developments for affordable housing.

As the only California certified professional engineer on the council, my objectives remain increasing quality housing and resources for seniors, youth and vulnerable populations, developing and specializing our parks and recreation systems, and advancing environmental  sciences and clean alternative energy technologies.

Anita is an experienced and professional businesswoman.   Anita is a retired executive from a Fortune 10 Company, AT&T.  She was first hired to go back to school and become a Network Design Engineer.  She was a successful engineer and moved on to Operations, Planning and Coordination.  She had the privilege of coordinating the modernization of the largest Central Office in the country.  Anita spent the latter half of her career in External Affairs, where she served as chief of staff to four regional presidents in LA and ultimately attained the position of Regional Vice President of External Affairs for the Los Angeles Market Area – a position she held until her retirement in 2014.  After her career with AT&T, Anita joined her husband in the insurance industry, where she helps small businesses maximize their employee benefits.  This has broadened her perspective, skills, and appreciation for small business owners.

Anita is an immigrant who came to this country as a child.  Her parents came with big dreams and a strong work ethic.  Through hard work and sacrifices, they secured an excellent education for their daughters. Anita earned a Bachelor of Science from USC Marshall School of Business in Finance and Accounting and an MBA from Cal Poly Pomona.

Supporting accessible quality education, workforce readiness and self-sufficiency are some of her passions and that is why she truly enjoyed serving as a trustee for Glendale Community College for 15 years including three terms as President of the Board.  She also served on the Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board as an appointee of Mayors Villaraigosa and Garcetti.

Anita has served our community in many other prominent roles, including Chairwoman of the Board of Glendale Memorial Hospital, and the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.  She also served on the Executive Boards of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, the YWCA of Glendale and LA and the League of Women Voters Education Fund Board.  She continues to serve our community on several boards and is honored to be in her fourth year as Chairwoman of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, one of the largest Latino focused social-service agencies in the nation.  Anita serves on Glendale’s Community Development Block Grant Committee, GUSD’s Adelante Latinos Committee, and the Advisory Boards of HOPE, Glendale Latino Association and Cal State LA’s Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs. As an environmental advocate, she chairs the Advocacy Committee for Breathe Southern California and serves on their Board of Directors.

Anita’s service to the community has been recognized.  She has been named Woman of the Year by her representatives in the California State Assembly and Senate, and most recently by Congressman Adam Schiff.  She has also been named Woman of the Year by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, the YWCA of Glendale, Glendale Latino Association, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership and Business Life Magazine.

She proudly says that her most important and rewarding role is being a mom.  She and her late husband, Leo, raised three accomplished daughters – all USC Alumni.   She loves traveling, soccer, zumba dancing, classic movies, music and cheering for USC.  Her favorite pastime is spending time with family. 

I believe in the richness and benefits of diversity; the justice in equity; the beauty of inclusion; and the safety of belonging.

I believe that education is the cornerstone of success, individual success that contributes to the success of a healthy economy.  I believe that quality and accessible education should be free through community college.  I also believe that student loans should be subsidized by the government to a level that makes student loan interest rates no higher than the cost of living.  This will free young adults from spending their whole life paying for their education instead of other investments, like investing in a home.   

I believe in transparency and accountability in government. I believe in fiscal responsibility, but it is not only watching the bottom line, but also making sure that the investments we are making are effective and responsible.

I believe in a strong infrastructure investment program in order to modernize our inefficient facilities and aging roads – it’s as a great way to create jobs and economic vitality.  I believe in investing in clean energy and the need to stop investing in fossil fuels as quickly as possible in order to reduce Green House Gases and protect our planet for many future generations.

I believe in a free market with reasonable boundaries and oversight.  The current trajectory of the rich getting richer and the poorer getting poorer, has confirmed my belief in a livable minimum wage and the need to restructure the tax codes.  I also believe that if you worked hard and attained wealth, you should be able to enjoy it without guilt.  

I believe in a safety net with respect and dignity for the disabled, elderly, mentally-ill, foster children.

I believe that my position on social issues is best described by the following quote:  Respect for others' rights means peace. (Benito Juarez)

Like most people, I never thought about running for public office; until a few years ago, I just wanted to write novels. I looked for a candidate who would say the things that need to be said and could not find one, so I figured that I needed to be the one to say them. This is my journey:

I was born in Korea and grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii—a melting pot of many languages and cultures, where people discuss our human differences in a warm, open, and friendly way. As an Asian, I am clearly good at math, so I majored in English Literature at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Then I worked as an Editor in New York City for nearly 20 years, mainly for scientific and academic publishers.

After my second layoff from a corporate job—due to no fault of my own, of course, I decided to leave New York because I realized that I would never be happy there. I moved to Salem, Massachusetts and worked for the Office of the State Auditor in Boston.

Then I moved to Glendale, California in early 2017. Here, for the first time, I felt at home. However, I had a much tougher time find a job in the LA area than I ever did in New York or Boston. This gave me time to become involved in my community, and it’s funny how things work out, sometimes. I knocked on my neighbors’ doors and listened to their concerns. I talked to many tenants who wanted rent control but were afraid of retaliation if they signed our petition. This is how I first got the idea that the secret ballot at the voting booth might serve my neighbors better than by a public petition, because no one knows how we voted.

My (unpaid) work as an activist led me to City Hall, which was like walking into an alternate universe. The issues I hear discussed by the City Council bear very little resemblance to the concerns that my neighbors express at community meetings. I found this disconnect fascinating and have been a regular at City Council meetings ever since, as often as my paid work allowed (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenkwak1704). My main reason for watching City Council meetings remains the same—it’s free entertainment. City government really does not do what most people think it does, and I have been explaining this to friends and neighbors ever since.

I also frequently convey my neighbors’ concerns to City Hall. Although our rent control drives have not (yet) succeeded, we have gained some victories like creating the new Tenant-Landlord Committee to make sure that tenant issues are heard by the City.

I live in a one-bedroom apartment in South Glendale, where I run a small business and tutor students. I also live with two very sweet and smart cats.

During the pandemic, we have seen how tenant-landlord issues affect everyone in Glendale, where 67% of residents are renters. I worked with community groups and the City Council to create the new Tenant-Landlord Committee, so we can come together to discuss problems and find common sense solutions.

I have big dreams for our city and specific ideas on how to make them real:

—A new model of affordable housing and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), to allow renters to buy the building they live in and control their own housing in the form of limited-equity co-ops. This is not just more affordable housing, but a paradigm shift in how we think about housing.

—Right to Counsel and Anti-Harassment laws for fair and safe housing

—Public banking to save money for the City and serve our people

—Council districts so that areas like South Glendale are represented in City Hall

—An Ethics Commission to keep our politicians honest

—Healthy trees and water for everyone, free of microplastics and PFAS

At a time when it is easy for people to live in bubbles where everyone thinks the same way, I encourage different voices to talk to each other and work for positive change.

A vote for me is a vote for change. Join us at KwakforChange.com

I am running for Glendale City Council to ensure the Jewel City remains one of the best places to live and work in California.

As an Eagle Scout, I know that democracy means serving my community and environment.  As a landscape plan-checker who works for LA City Public Works (Master of Landscape Architecture - Cal Poly Pomona), I will improve the livability of our communities through safe and sustainable infrastructure.  My mission is to leave this world better than how I found it.

Growing up in the same Indiana county as Abraham Lincoln, his legacy shaped my views on civic engagement.  Indiana might be a world away, but the American values of unity and equality are right at home in Glendale.

City government needs to be transparent.  On City Council, I will be accountable only to you, the voters.  Through respectful collaboration with our community, my goal is to partner with every neighborhood, from La Crescenta to Adams Hill, so we can realize our values and aspirations together.

I will also fight for universal quality-of-life issues, like safe streets, low crime, and dependable, affordable city services.  I promise to work with each community group to make sure your voices are represented.  Together, we can build a resilient Glendale for everyone.

Please look over my Master's thesis on mycoremediation of soil contaminated with diesel fuel at Taylor Yard in Los Angeles, CA.

Click here for thesis document

Click here for thesis presentation

Mycoremediation is a process that utilizes mushroom mycelium to quickly break down hydrocarbons (fuel) into non-toxic byproducts.  Mycoremediation is a sustainable, low-cost, and efficient way to address urban brownfield contamination.  I worked with the LA City Bureau of Engineering and researchers from UC-Riverside to apply this green technology at Taylor Yard.

Transparent government is better government.

The City of Glendale has a transparency issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Whether it's falling short to meet CalPERS obligations for our City employees, or lack of financial information about local development like the Americana at Brand, the City of Glendale deserves to know how its tax dollars are being spent.

My mission is to hold the government accountable to the people of Glendale. The solution to this is very simple -- make government more transparent. We cannot fix the problems we face if we don't even know what the problem is, and that is why I promise to disclose all financials that the city is currently committed to. I will not compromise the interest of Glendale's taxpayers, and I trust the voters of Glendale will hold me accountable too.

In short, you can trust me to tell the truth -- the whole truth -- about how every dollar Glendale earns in tax revenue is spent.