'KAFI' TALK GLENDALE MAYOR GREETS ALL AT SIDEWALK SHOP.

Byline: Susan Abram  Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Mayor Rafi Manoukian sits alone at a table outside a Brand Boulevard coffeehouse - the other chair invitingly vacant.

But Manoukian doesn't have to wait long for the chair to be taken by a man wanting to talk about housing woes, a woman extending an invitation to a fund-raiser, a passer-by just stopping to say hello.

It's exactly what Manoukian hopes for during one of his monthly ``Kafi with Rafi'' sessions at Java City Coffee Shop, 134 N. Brand Blvd.

``We get so busy with work, and I don't really have time to return all the phone calls,'' said Manoukian, who was appointed mayor in April. ``It's very difficult to stay in touch with the community. This way, people feel very comfortable.''

The sessions have proved to be successful, Manoukian said, especially for members of Glendale's large Armenian community who may feel intimidated by visiting City Hall.

During the two-hour stint Thursday, about a dozen people stopped by to chat with the mayor.

Manoukian was unable to help one man, who told the mayor in Armenian that he had recently applied for a housing subsidy in Los Angeles, but that he really wanted to live in Glendale. Manoukian had to tell the man there was nothing he could do.

``It's very difficult sometimes,'' Manoukian said afterward. ``Many people don't understand that I'm here to enforce the law. People come up to me and say do something, but I have to make them understand I can't just change the law.''

Others who spoke to the mayor said that despite the outcome of their concerns, they were pleased to have the chance to speak to someone from the city.

``He's very understanding,'' said one woman, who identified herself only as Hasmik. ``This is a good idea, the first time anyone has done this.''

Manoukian said the biggest concern among residents is affordable housing and apartment rentals. But many decline to come to City Council meetings because of fear of retribution from landlords or a misunderstanding of the housing laws.

Since appointed to the City Council in 1999, Manoukian said he has already accomplished one of his goals: to encourage the Armenian community to participate in city issues, and especially to vote.

In his first bid for the City Council, Manoukian led a registration drive that netted 3,000 new Armenian-American voters. In an aggressive absentee ballot campaign, he inspired turnout of nearly 50 percent among local Armenian voters, or nearly double the turnout of registered voters overall.

Before running for the City Council, Manoukian, an accountant, was also an activist for the Armenian National Committee.

He remembers feeling intimidated by City Hall back then, until he met council members and thought they're not that special.

That's another reason for holding the ``Kafi with Rafi'' sessions, he said. He wants others to know that he's been on the other side of the City Council bench and understands how it feels.

``I think I'm much more approachable,'' said Manoukian, who will hold his next session from 9 to 11 a.m. Aug. 1. ``They see I'm a real person.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, left, talks with a resident Thursday outside a coffee shop on Brand Boulevard.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer