OUTSIDE MAILER GENERATING WOES FOR QUINTERO.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- Although his failed run for state Assembly is behind him, City Councilman Frank Quintero still faces questions about the campaign because of a last-minute mailer some denounced as racist.

The mailer was distributed by the California Latino Leadership Fund, and sought to link Paul Krekorian, an Armenian-American who was Quintero's opponent in the Democratic primary, to terrorism.

Quintero has worked for years to cultivate ties with Glendale's huge Armenian community and maintains he had nothing to do with the campaign hit piece.

``I condemn the independent mailer and its message,'' Quintero said. ``Now I'm looking forward to continuing to serve the people of Glendale and enjoying my time on the council.''

But City Councilman Ara Najarian, another Armenian-American, wants the council to hold a hearing into the mailer and a related phone message campaign.

``It went way past Paul Krekorian,'' Najarian said. ``It went to all the Armenians, so essentially I feel that all Armenians were under attack when that mailer was sent out.''

The mailer sent by the Oakland-based Leadership Fund targeted Krekorian and the Armenian National Committee of America, an advocacy group that endorsed him.

The mailer accused the ANC of giving an award to ``suspected terrorist'' Mourad Topalian in 2000, and faulted Krekorian for accepting the ANC's endorsement in the Assembly race.

Topalian, a former Armenian National Committee leader, was sentenced in 2001 to 37 months in prison for storing stolen explosives and owning two machine guns. The ANC says it cut its ties with Topalian after his conviction.

In fact, Quintero himself had been endorsed by the ANC when he ran for City Council in 2001.

``I'm fine with the Armenian community,'' Quintero said. ``I don't have any issues with the Armenian community.

``The California (Latino) Leadership Fund needs to issue a letter and a statement telling people that I have not in any way been involved in that mailer.''

Krekorian, 46, a Burbank school board member, said he was hurt by the mailer, which implicated his wife because she is an ANC member.

``It's beyond anything that really should be acceptable,'' he said, ``by anyone in the political arena.''

Officials with the Latino Leadership Fund did not return phone calls.

Although the group was prohibited by law from contacting Quintero's campaign before the primary, City Councilmen Rafi Manoukian and Bob Yousefian -- both Armenian-Americans -- said they believe Quintero was involved in sending out the mailer.

``I don't know what's going to happen but there is a lot of anger in the community,'' said Manoukian, who supported Krekorian for the 43rd Assembly District seat.

Krekorian defeated Quintero 57-43 percent in Tuesday's primary and will face Republican Michael Agbaba and Libertarian Steve Myers in November.

The Latino Leadership Fund received money from PG&E Corp., Sempra Energy and others, although most of its money came from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The Indian band also gave $3,200 to Quintero's campaign.

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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