Katcho Achadjian
Katcho Achadjian | |
|---|---|
| In office December 7, 1998 – December 6, 2010 | |
| Succeeded by | Paul Teixeira |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Khatchik Hratchia Achadjian June 2, 1951 Jalala, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo |
| Profession | Business Owner, Politician |
Khatchik Hratchia Achadjian[4][5] (June 2, 1951 – March 5, 2020) was an Armenian-American businessman, and politician who formerly served in the California State Assembly.[6] He was a Republican who represented the 35th district, encompassing San Luis Obispo County and part of Santa Barbara County. He previously represented the 33rd district, and prior to being elected to the State Assembly, was also a member of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. In 2016, he ran for the United States House of Representatives from the 24th district, but he was defeated in the primary election.
Early life, education, and Board of Supervisors
Achadjian was born in Jalala, near
Achadjian was first elected to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors in 1998, serving until his election to the assembly in 2010. He served as chairman of the board in 2001 and 2006.[9]
California Assembly
In 2010, Achadjian first ran as the Republican nominee for the California State Assembly, in the 33rd district. He won 58% of the popular vote against Democrat Hilda Zacarias.
By 2012, the district was redrawn into the 35th district. In the primary, Achadjian won 65% of the vote against Democrat Gerald Manata's 35%. In the general election, Achadjian won 61% to Manata's 39%.
Achadjian ran for a third term in 2014, winning 65% of the vote yet again in the primary, against the 35% of Democrat Heidi Harmon. In the general, Achadjian increased his performance slightly over his 2012 result, with 63% of the vote to Harman's 37%.
Throughout his time in the Assembly, Achadjian's voting record received perfect scores from such groups as the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Taxpayers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the California Small Business Association.[10]
Committee assignments
- Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance
- Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy
- Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs
- Assembly Joint Committee on Fairs, Allocations, and Classification
- Assembly Joint Committee on Fisheries and Antiquities
- Assembly Joint Legislative Audit[11]
2016 congressional bid
In 2015, Achadjian announced his intention to run for the
In the lead-up to the primary on June 7, Achadjian raised roughly $750,000 in the congressional race.[14] Although he was only the fourth-highest fundraiser in the race, he was generally considered to be the primary frontrunner due to arguably having more name recognition among voters than any other candidate, from either party. Polls released both by his own campaign and the Schneider campaign predicted that Achadjian would come in first in the open primary.[15] However, despite this, he came in a narrow third with 27,545 (18.9%) total votes, only 1.6% behind Justin Fareed, who finished a distant second to Carbajal. Fareed went on to lose the general election to Carbajal.
Later life and death
Katcho Achadjian died peacefully on March 5, 2020, at the age of 68, due to unspecified health complications.[16]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian | 84,629 | 57.8 | |
| Democratic | Hilda Zacarias | 54,817 | 37.4 | |
| Libertarian | Paul K. Polson | 7,051 | 4.8 | |
| Total votes | 146,497 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian (incumbent) | 62,747 | 64.9 | |
| Democratic | Gerald "Gerry" Manata | 33,862 | 35.1 | |
| Total votes | 96,609 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian (incumbent) | 103,762 | 61.3 | |
| Democratic | Gerald "Gerry" Manata | 65,500 | 38.7 | |
| Total votes | 169,262 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian (incumbent) | 54,615 | 65.3 | |
| Democratic | Heidi Harmon | 29,030 | 34.7 | |
| Total votes | 83,645 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian (incumbent) | 77,452 | 62.7 | |
| Democratic | Heidi Harmon | 46,126 | 37.3 | |
| Total votes | 123,578 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Salud Carbajal | 47,618 | 32.7 | |
| Republican | Justin Donald Fareed | 29,902 | 20.5 | |
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian | 27,545 | 18.9 | |
| Democratic | Helene Schneider | 20,992 | 14.4 | |
| Democratic | William "Bill" Ostrander | 8,048 | 5.5 | |
| Republican | Matt T. Kokkonen | 7,779 | 5.3 | |
No party preference
|
Steve Isakson | 1,444 | 1.0 | |
No party preference
|
John Uebersax | 1,330 | 0.9 | |
| Democratic | Benjamin Lucas | 1,103 | 0.7 | |
| Total votes | 145,671 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Salud Carbajal | 166,034 | 53.4 | |
| Republican | Justin Fareed | 144,780 | 46.6 | |
| Total votes | 310,814 | 100.0 | ||
References
- ^ California Secretary of State. "Vote totals, election outcomes and text for county ballot measures" (PDF). State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ California Secretary of State. "California Roster 2006" (PDF). State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ "JoinCalifornia - Katcho Achadjian". www.joincalifornia.com. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "JoinCalifornia - Katcho Achadjian".
- ^ Leslie, Kaytlyn (5 March 2020). "'An American success story': Central Coast mourns assemblyman, supervisor Katcho Achadjian". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Katcho Achadjian, former local state assemblyman, dies at age 68". 6 March 2020.
- ^ Achadjian, Nyri (2019-01-04). "My Father's Story: The Life of California State Assemblyman, Khatcho Achadjian". HOME Magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ "San Diego Armenians Unite To Support Katcho Achadjian for Congress". Armenian National Committee of America. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ a b "Biography". Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Awards and Recognition". Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Committees". Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ a b Kelsey Brugger (April 18, 2015). "Katcho Achadjian Announces Congress Bid". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ Hulse, Carl (April 8, 2015). "Representative Lois Capps Announces Retirement". The New York Times.
- ^ "Fareed on the Hot Seat over Campaign Finances". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Celebrity donors pour money into this open California congressional seat". LA Times. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ KSBY staff (2020-03-05). "Katcho Achadjian, former local state assemblyman, dies at age 68". Retrieved 2021-07-08.
External links
- Katcho for Congress official Congressional bid website