WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9434 President Glenn Choolokian is running for Mayor of Niagara Falls.  The USW Labor Leader tells WNYLaborToday.com: “(I’m running) ‘because I love Niagara Falls and I believe in its people.’  It is ‘very important people get involved’ (in order to change the future).  ‘People like to complain and not get involved - but you’ve got to get involved.’”  (Photos Courtesy Of Glen Choolokian’s Facebook Page)

(NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK) – United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9434 President Glenn Choolokian has been here before and while he came close the last time around, that defeat would not be final nail in his political coffin when it came to standing up and running for Mayor of Niagara Falls one more time. 

Asked why, the USW Union Leader tells WNYLaborToday.com: “(I’m running) ‘because I love Niagara Falls and I believe in its people.’  I’ve seen ‘forty years of destruction, in our public services, crime is horrible, of politicians never doing what they said they would do’ - saying ‘we’ll figure it out.’  ‘They’ve failed our people.’  ‘I want to get this town in the right direction.’”

The 56-year-old Choolokian, a former nightclub owner in Niagara Falls, has been a USW Union Member since 1987 and has served as President of Local 9434 for six years, representing more than 300 Members, including 100-plus who are employed at the Niagara Falls Water Board. 

He is also a former City Council Member who served five years in office since 2000, but lost a close Mayoral Election a number of years ago.

Now, with a Primary Election being held on Tuesday, June 27th - you can find the 56-year-old Choolokian going door-to-door, talking to Niagara Falls residents about they believe needs to be done to turn Niagara Falls around and what he hopes to accomplish as their next Mayor.

“‘Everybody’s got a story to tell you,’” he continued, “but ‘I will tell you this: No one has ever outworked me.’  ‘And this is very important: People like to complain and not get involved, but you’ve got to get involved,’ young people ‘and’ older people.  That why, as a Union Member, I ‘urge’ Union Members and Leaders ‘to get involved.’  ‘And we are - and I am too - a problem solver.’  ‘If I win, it will be all work.’  ‘I’ve been doing this a long time.’”

Choolokian is running on a platform that he calls A Plan For Change, which includes: Marketing Niagara Falls for new economic development and new livable wage jobs; Addressing rising crime and public safety - notably creating an elite and special group of Police Officers who will be trained for the streets, as well as bringing back more Officers to walk City streets as a physical deterrent to crime; A focus placed on basic City services, notably aggressively demolishing vacant houses, fixing potholes, replacing broken and cracked sidewalks and making sure all streets are plowed in the Winter; and the creation of a Mayor’s Hotline, open 24 hours a day to directly connect residents and taxpayers to the Mayor’s Office.

As a Union Leader whose Members are employed at the Water Board, Choolokian said he had taken the time to go over the City Budget - line by line, to gain a better understanding of it - and, in the end, “figure it out.”

In addition, and on his campaign website: www.choolokian.com, the Mayoral Candidate has posted the following message:

As a former Niagara Falls Business Owner, former Council Member and a life-long resident of the City of Niagara Falls, I consider myself very fortunate to live and work in our City.

I have been dismayed, and saddened, at the amount of failure from our politicians and their inability to move our City forward.

The past four years we have had a new administration and things have only gotten worse.

The leadership of Niagara Falls continues to let down the residents and business owners.

We cannot afford past and present administrations to plague our City any longer.

(That’s why I have announced) my candidacy for the Office of Mayor.

I think it’s time to bring in a strong qualified leader with a background of progressive
thinking, and most importantly a person with a track record of solutions and accomplishments.

I have always truly believed in the past and especially now that I am the only person that can move our City into a new and better direction.

The City of Niagara Falls cannot afford to wait any longer, with this being said that is why I am running as a Democrat, giving myself the best chance to win and to become your next Mayor.

You may hear from my opponents throughout the upcoming election that I have switched political parties a couple of times (this is true) and they will say I am not loyal to any certain political party.

The people that know me know I have a deep passion for the City of Niagara Falls and ALL our citizens, I believe that at the local level, political parties are irrelevant.

The famous saying for this situation is: “There is no Democrat or Republican way to pick up the garbage, fix a street or STOP Crime.”

The City of Niagara Falls is made up of so many great people, we are a diverse community with so many different cultural backgrounds, religious beliefs and political views and these are the people that I am loyal to - not just one certain political party.

I believe it is time for cooperation between all local political parties so we can all help together in the long-awaited rebirth of our once great City.

Our elected officials’ jobs should be to ensure our community’s safety, promote a positive environment for families to live and businesses to grow in.

We live in a remarkable community, filled with talented and educated people who share a deep appreciation for our beautiful historic City.

I believe we still have what it takes to make this a thriving, economically viable, sustainable environment for our families, students, seasonal residents and tourists.

The next administration must be committed to the residents and business owners of Niagara Falls. 

We must instill the principle that anything less than the best is unacceptable.

Jim Briggs, who serves as USW District Region 4’s Sub-District Director and as President of the Niagara-Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, applauded Choolokian’s decision to run for the Mayor’s Office, as he does with any USW Member or Leader who makes the ultimate decision to run for public office.

“We are ‘always happy to hear when a Union Member jumps in (and makes the decision to run for public office) and it is always something we encourage.’  ‘We believe our Members are as qualified (to serve in public office) or even more so because of the type of commitment they’ve made to their Union,’” Briggs told WNYLaborToday.com. 

“Why? ‘Because they understand the businesses that USW Members are employed at.’  ‘They understand both sides of the issues, as well as the needs of their Members.’  ‘That’s why our Union believes our Members are the best candidates.’  ‘They give voice to people in our communities,’” he said.

Choolokian’s Union, the USW, and his Local have helped elect a number of Niagara Falls politicians to public office over the years, but with mixed results.

After watching them do their job, Choolokian says he knows what not to do.

When asked by WNYLaborToday.com what the difference is between himself and those who have run for public office and served the community in the past, he answered: “‘I know what I’m doing.’”