Glendale Leader Makes Hate Backfire As She Marks Milestone

IN TOUCH WITH LA – Dr. Suzie Abajian, a mathematician, mom, and public servant, is a beloved figure in Glendale and northeast Los Angeles. Last month, on very short notice, she welcomed more than 30 civic leaders to her home for what she termed a “small” holiday gathering of her “inner circle.” The fervor, diversity, and size of this not-so-small brain trust indicates a sphere of influence for Dr. Abajian that actually numbers into the hundreds of supporters and touches thousands of lives.

Such breadth and depth of solidarity, like any precious, hard-earned currency, cannot help but catch the eye of the jealous or spiteful. So it was this week that Dr. Abajian became the target of a hateful email by a longtime antagonist of human rights, public education, and women’s rights in Glendale, Mike Mohill.

In the email, sent by scattershot to a list of several hundred, Mohill took a page from the Donald Trump playbook of childish, racist, and sexist insults by calling Dr. Abajian “Pocahontas.” As if to rationalize such vile and offensive rhetoric, the email included a crude, fabricated, racially stereotyped depiction of Dr. Abajian in garb and regalia associated with Native people.

Mohill is no stranger to cruel, repugnant language or divisive, ugly diatribes against public servants and others as years of his public comments at Glendale City Council meetings attest to.

But in targeting Dr. Abajian — the elected city clerk, whose citywide victory in June 2022 so shocked some right-wing observers that they, too, made themselves caricatures of Donald Trump by calling for a recount — the hateful email by Mohill is having the opposite effect.

One of Dr. Abajian’s priorities as city clerk of Glendale has been highlighting diversity as a strength of her city, including moments of adversity. In March 2023, she urged Glendale Police to improve safety patrols after hate-filled fliers appeared in the city attempting to inflame antagonism between Jewish, Arab American, and Armenian American residents.

Dr. Suzie Abajian

One particularly cruel facet of the timing of the hateful stereotypes promoted by Mohill’s email attacking Dr. Abajian is that she is about to celebrate her 50th birthday.

Instead of stigmatizing and intimidating Dr. Abajian or her large base of loyal supporters, the bigotry reflected in the email this week is prompting pledges of support for Dr. Abajian for her 2026 reelection campaign. 

This transformation of hate into a stimulus for respect for diversity and donations for humane causes is reminiscent of community fund-raising drives begun in the 1990s to counteract the white supremacy of the Ku Klux Klan. Donors made pledges of support to local nonprofits that support racial justice based on the number of KKK demonstrators that showed up. More white supremacists translated into more donations for nonprofits that are antidotes to their poison.

This strategy resurfaced a decade later in the early 2000s when LGBTQ+ organizers adopted it in response to provocative picketing of funerals and pro-equality business by Rev. Fred Phelps and his church followers carrying signs saying “God Hates Fags.” It was a ringing success.

In Glendale, hundreds of residents have rallied over the past five years to defend public-school teachers, students, and school board members from vitriolic smears and hateful comments at public meetings, with remarks by Mohill among them. The defeat of that delusion and division and the success of advocacy for public education and equality — in an increasingly diverse city that boasts the highest percentage of immigrant residents in California, at 51 percent — likely plays a role in the hostility and venom reflected in the Mohill email.

So does resentment at the electoral victory and effective, distinguished public service of Dr. Abajian. It’s a local reminder that representation matters, especially by women with the courage to persist and serve with excellence. So do networks of support with the trust and staying power to stand alongside a leader and support her even more strongly when it really counts.

(Hans Johnson is a longtime advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and public education. His columns have appeared in USA Today and leading newspapers across more than 20 states. Based in Eagle Rock, he serves as president of East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD), California’s largest grassroots Democratic club with over 1,100 members. Hans brings decades of organizing and policy experience to his work, advancing equity and accountability in local and national politics.)