MAILER EFFECTS LAST LONG AFTER ELECTION GLENDALE COUNCILMAN WANTS PROBE.

Byline: EUGENE TONG  Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- If the City Council were a high school cafeteria, Councilman Frank Quintero -- at least for now -- would be the quiet kid forced to eat lunch by himself.

Weeks after a failed state Assembly run in which he caught flak for an attack mailer some denounced as anti-Armenian, the mood around him seemed tense at last week's council meeting.

In contrast, the other four council members -- three of them Armenian-Americans -- joked and jibed while approving budgets and countering critics.

``It's almost like he's a whipped puppy dog, losing that election,'' said Barry Allen, head of a local watchdog group called Vanguard.

Quintero, who lost to Burbank school board member Paul Krekorian in the 43rd Assembly District's June 6 Democratic primary, has denied any connection with the offending mailer distributed by the Oakland-based California Latino Leadership Fund.

``I don't have any ill feelings toward any council member,'' he said in an interview. ``I had nothing to do with that flier. It was an independent expenditure.''

The mailer sought to link his Armenian-American opponent to terrorism by way of the Armenian National Committee of America, which endorsed Krekorian. A former ANC leader no longer tied to the advocacy group was sentenced in 2001 to 37 years in prison for stolen explosives and weapons possession.

``Things like this shouldn't be happening,'' said Councilman Bob Yousefian, who was among those offended by the mailer. ``And this was done by people who had been discriminated (against) in the first place.

``All bets are off against the candidate (when running for office). But when you attack a whole group of people, I don't think that's fair game.''

Quintero said he was ready to put the campaign behind him and return to work. He also is pressing for a state investigation of the mailer, a matter the City Council is slated to consider Tuesday.

``I'm back at the job I was elected to do,'' he said. ``I'm looking forward to spending my time working (on) city issues. There are plenty of things we need to work on.''

But members of the council's Armenian-American majority may not be as forgiving.

``(Quintero) has chosen to completely deny it and not take responsibility for it,'' Yousefian said. ``He has to take some responsibility for it.

``Time has a tendency to heal things. I hope that will take place. I think Frank is going to have to take steps to basically wave the olive branch.''

Councilman Ara Najarian -- who is also pushing for an investigation to help ``clear up some of the air'' -- downplayed the flap.

``There may be some tense and uneasy moments,'' he said. ``(But) we're not going to vote against Frank just because he votes one way. We're not trying to isolate him or alienate him. He's a full-fledged member, and I for one expect him to participate fully.''

It's in the best interest of politicians to make nice, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at University of Southern California's School of Planning and Public Policy.

``To get anything done in politics takes a majority of the vote,'' she said. ``You can't hold a grudge.'' But with three Armenian-Americans on the council, ``the defeated candidate has a harder job.''

City Manager Jim Starbird, who has more than 30 years' experience in municipal management, is optimistic that the council will remain functional.

``Maintaining a professional relationship despite their differences is always important in maintaining a council that will function well,'' he said. ``I'm hopeful that we can separate the campaign issues that arose from the Assembly race and the issues that confront the city.

``You don't really expect all members of a council to think alike all the time. What's important is how they express these differences, and working through the differences they have and coming to a conclusion.''

As for Quintero, who was elected in 2001 with help from the ANC, he still has time to mend bridges with his former supporters.

``He still has two more years before the next election,'' Allen said.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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