Rostom Sarkissian Announces Candidacy for LA City Council

LOS ANGELES – Rostom Sarkissian has announced his candidacy for the Los Angeles City Council Fourth District, a seat long held by retiring Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Sarkissian has said he is running for Los Angeles City Council to be the community’s voice at City Hall. If elected, he will focus on policy, not politics.

Sarkissian is a dedicated family man, who is grounded in deep Los Angeles roots. As an eight-year-old boy scout growing up in Hollywood, Sarkissian attended Ramona Elementary School where he returned many years later to work on the Measure K School Bond that has repaired hundreds of schools and built dozens of new ones across Los Angeles. One of those new schools, Kingsley Elementary, replaced the corner liquor store in his neighborhood.
Sarkissian earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College. He was twice awarded the Richter Scholarship for international research in Armenia, including his undergraduate thesis on Javakhk, which has been cited in numerous European publications about Javakhk. He was selected as a Coro Fellow from Los Angeles and was a United Nations Intern in 2001.

Sarkissian is a small business owner and has spent the last six years working with local non-profits in developing and writing grants, providing marketing con- sulting for small business owners, and working to elect Community focused leaders across LA County. He has worked on campaigns across the country, including the Oregon, Colorado, and Florida campaigns for Barack Obama and John Kerry for President.

Sarkissian is a native speaker of Armenian, and is also proficient in Spanish. He married his wife, Lilit, in 2013. She worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Cedars Sinai until the birth of their daughter, Anush, who was born on September 11, 2014. The family lives in Sherman Oaks.

City Council District 4 comprises Los Feliz, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Larchmont, Hancock Park, and Miracle Mile. Incumbent councilmember Tom Labonge is termed out this year. There are 14 candidates in the race, and Sarkissian is the only Armenian-American candidate. The primary election will take place on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.