Rafi Manoukian (born 1961) is a businessman and elected council member for several terms to Glendale City Council and has served at times as mayor of the city.

Biography

Manoukian immigrated to the United States in 1975 from

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

with his parents and three brothers. He resided in Los Angeles. After high school, he joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 1978 at the age 17 where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and where he received the

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

for work above and beyond the call of duty. He was honorably discharged in 1982. During his four years in the military, Manoukian received an Associate in Arts Degree from Miami Dade Community College. Afterwards, Manoukian continued his education at

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

, Northridge receiving a bachelor's degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in 1984. He received his

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

certificate in 1991 and founded Manoukian Accountancy Corporation in 1993. He went on to receive an MBA from

, Dominguez Hills in 2004. Manoukian married Zovig Sepetjian in 1987, and they have three children. From 1997 to 1998, Manoukian served on the Measure K School Bond Committee, a role for which he earned the Glendale Unified School District Burtis E. Taylor Education Award. From 1998 to 1999, Manoukian served on the Board of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce as well as on the Board of the Glendale Youth Alliance. In April 1999, Manoukian was elected to the Glendale City Council after promoting the registration of over 4000 new voters. He was re-elected in 2003, attaining the most votes of any council candidate up to that point in time. In addition to his duties as a councilmember, Manoukian served as Chair of the

Housing Authority A housing authority or ministry of housing is generally a governmental body that governs aspects of housing or (called in general " shelter" or "living spaces"), often providing subsidies and low rent or free public housing to qualified people. ...

and the

Redevelopment Agency A redevelopment agency (RDA) is a government body dedicated to urban renewal. Typically it is a municipal level city department focused on a particular district or corridor that has become neglected or blighted (a community redevelopment agency o ...

. He assumed the duties of Glendale

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 2002-03 and 2005–06. As mayor, he chaired the 2005 Relay for Life event, which raised over $100,000 for cancer research. Manoukian was voted by the community as Best Politician in 2005. Manoukian was honored in 2006 by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation, by being awarded the

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

, which is given to immigrants that have made outstanding contributions to the United States. Although Glendale's City Council is

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

, Manoukian is a member of the Democratic Party. Manoukian also sits on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Commission. In January 2011, Manoukian announced his candidacy for Glendale City Council. He won the election and was sworn in as a Glendale City Councilmember in April 2011.

References

External links

Rafi Manoukian article on Armeniapedia.org

Rafi Manoukian Information on City of Glendalewebsite

Our Our City Treasurer Candidate - Rafi Manoukian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manoukian, Rafi 1961 births Living people American mayors of Middle Eastern descent Politicians from Beirut Lebanese people of Armenian descent Lebanese emigrants to the United States American people of Armenian descent American politicians of Lebanese descent California city council members California State University, Northridge alumni California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni Mayors of Glendale, California Ethnic Armenian politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links