ANCA-WR to Honor Assemblymember John Harabedian as “Legislator of the Year” at 2026 Annual Gala Banquet

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region will present its highest legislative honor to the only Assemblymember of Armenian descent serving in the California State Assembly, recognizing his leadership on the MENA Inclusion Act, his advocacy for Armenian Prisoners of War and the forcefully displaced and ethnically cleansed people of Artsakh.

August 24, 2026

Los Angeles, CA – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) is proud to announce that California State Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-41) will be honored with the organization’s 2026 “Legislator of the Year” award at its highly anticipated Gala Banquet, taking place on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles. The ANCA-WR “Legislator of the Year” Award is presented annually to an elected official who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, unwavering commitment to justice, and strong advocacy on issues of importance to the Armenian-American community.

“Assemblymember Harabedian has been a tireless and principled champion for the Armenian-American community since his very first day in the State Capitol,” stated Oshin Harootoonian, Chairman of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors. “As the only representative of Armenian descent, serving in the California State Assembly, he has carried his responsibilities with real conviction – by becoming the torchbearer of Armenian-American issues in California. His leadership makes him an exceptionally fitting choice for this year’s Legislator of the Year Award.”

Assemblymember Harabedian represents California’s 41st Assembly District, which stretches from Pasadena across the San Gabriel Valley to Clairemont, La Verne, San Dimas, and into portions of San Bernardino County. He was elected in November 2024 and sworn into office on December 2, 2024, succeeding Assemblymember Chris Holden. He is the only Armenian-American currently serving in the California State Assembly, and since January 2025, he has exceptionally served as Chair of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation.

Harabedian’s story starts in Sierra Madre, the same community he now represents in Sacramento. As the grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, he grew up hearing firsthand what it cost to lose a homeland and what it takes to rebuild a life in a country that offered refuge – a legacy he has said still inspires and steers every fight he takes on in the Capitol. That sense of obligation followed him through Yale, Oxford, and Stanford Law School, but it was the years after his graduation that shaped the legislator he would become: a federal clerkship that showed him the power of the law to right wrongs, a term as a Los Angeles County prosecutor that put him face to face with the communities he would go on to serve, and pro bono work defending immigrants that sharpened his instinct to speak for people without a seat at the table. Even when building a career at firms like Latham & Watkins, and later as a partner at Ellis George LLP, he kept finding his way back to public service – through CORO Fellowship alongside labor organizers and City Hall staff, and then through elected office itself, first on the Sierra Madre City Council in 2012 and twice as the city’s Mayor.

For the Armenian-American community, Harabedian has been a consistent and forceful voice in the State Capitol. In October 2025, Governor Newsom signed AB 91, the MENA Inclusion Act, which expanded demographic data collection and created a distinct Armenian-American designation for state data, thus ensuring Armenian Americans are properly counted in California, and are not overlooked in the census data.

That advocacy was tested again in January 2026, when Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump Administration’s Medicare and Medicaid chief, stood outside a Van Nuys bakery and made remarks that reduced an entire community to criminals and cost the targeted business roughly a third of its daily customers overnight. Harabedian did not let the moment pass and kept the pressure for days, in public statements and on social media, working shoulder to shoulder with ANCA-WR to stop Oz’s claims from going unchallenged. That sustained response, from Harabedian and the ANCA-WR alike, helped build the public record that led Governor Newsom to file a civil rights complaint against Oz over what his office called “baseless and racially charged allegations” targeting the Armenian-American community.

In April 2026, Harabedian led an ANCA-WR backed bipartisan letter signed by more than twenty-five members of the California Legislature to President Trump, demanding the release of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages, and political prisoners held illegally in Baku, the right of return for the forcibly displaced people of Artsakh, and an end to Azerbaijan’s occupation of sovereign Armenian territory. He has supported the designation of the Montebello Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument as a California State Historical Landmark, and the California Legislative Armenian Caucus Foundation he chairs – now 61 members across both chambers – awards annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Scholarships to California students.

Most recently, Harabedian chairs the newly established Assembly Select Committee on California and Armenia Mutual Trade, Art, and Cultural Exchange, which convened its inaugural hearing at the State Capitol in August 2026. The committee’s agenda includes expanding trade and investment with the Republic of Armenia, building academic partnerships between the University of California, California State University systems, and Armenian institutions; supporting cultural preservation and tourism, correcting the exclusion of Armenian-American businesses from state supplier diversity and procurement programs, and using California’s platform to advocate for Armenian sovereignty, human rights, and the release of political prisoners.

Assemblymember Harabedian’s recognition as “Legislator of the Year” underscores the ANCA-WR’s commitment to honoring public servants who stand firm in defense of human rights, amplify the voices of the Armenian American community, and take decisive action in the face of injustice. By celebrating his leadership, the ANCA-WR reaffirms the vital role of principled advocacy in securing a safer, more just future for Armenians in the Homeland and the Diaspora alike.

The 2026 ANCA-WR Gala Banquet will bring together hundreds of community leaders, public officials, and grassroots supporters for an evening celebrating advocacy and impact. For tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and additional event information, please visit www.ancawr.org/gala2026.