LOS ANGELES, CA—Newly elected Mayor of the City of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa this week announced appointments of Armenian Americans to one of the city’s departments and various commissions. The announcement of Maria Armoudian, Ara Bedrosian, Ed Ebrahimian, and Raffi Ghazarian to the City of Los Angeles’ administration came during special remarks the Mayor delivered at the 2005 Armenian National Committee of America ­ Western Region (ANCA-WR) Annual Banquet.

“There were a great deal of people wanting to be a part of my administration because we said that it would be an administration that would reflect every community in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Villaraigosa during his remarks.

Most notably, the Mayor appointed Ed Ebrahimian General Manager of the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting. Ebrahimian is the Mayor Villaraigosa’s first appointment as a department head and is the first Armenian American to head a department in the City of Los Angeles. Prior to his appointment, Ebrahimian served as the Interim Director of the department. As General Manager, he will be in charge of the department which is responsible for providing over 5,000 miles of street lighting, which includes over 240,000 street lights, within the city. The Bureau of Street Lighting is one of six bureaus in the Los Angeles City Department of Public Works and is responsible for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of the city’s street lighting system. Ebrahimian is a longtime member of the Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter.

Maria Armoudian was appointed to the Los Angeles Commission of Environmental Affairs. She is on the Board of Directors of KPFK radio and its parent company Pacifica Foundation. Armoudian is the host and producer of “Insighters,” which airs Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. on KPFK. She was an instrumental part of State Senator Richard Alarcon’s staff, and remains an ANCA activist.

Ara Bedrosian, an ANCA-WR Board member and Chairman of the National Organization of Republican Armenians (NORA) was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Permits Review Commission. He is an attorney in a private practice law firm in downtown Los Angeles.

Raffi Ghazarian, who is a member of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Camp Management Board, Homenetmen “Masis” Chapter’s athletic director, and a former longtime AYF member, was appointed to the Los Angeles Children, Youth, and Their Families Commission.

Since taking office, Mayor Villaraigosa has honored his pledge to have Los Angeles’ diverse ethnic communities represented in his administration. Speaking in front of the over 600 attendees of the ANCA-WR Annual Banquet, the Mayor emphasized that he made the first appointments of Armenian Americans because they were the best candidates for the chosen roles. Mayor Villaraigosa’s appointments are subject to confirmation by the Los Angeles City Council.

The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad range of issues.

Photo caption: Newly appointed General Manager of the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting, Ed Ebrahimian.