John Harabedian

John Harabedian is a freshman Democratic Assemblymember representing the 41st District, a Stanford-trained attorney, former two-term Mayor of Sierra Madre, and a father of three who was sworn into office in December 2024 after winning his general election with over 64 percent of the vote ^[1,2]. While his stated legislative priorities on issues like abortion access and gun control diverge sharply from CFC's core values, Harabedian's deep roots in his community, his emphasis on family life, his work expanding behavioral health access for those with serious mental illness, and his advocacy for wildfire-devastated families reflect a genuine concern for the well-being of Californians that merits fair evaluation ^[3,4,5]. With a 15% CFC Biblical Values Scorecard rating, Harabedian's voting record has consistently placed him at considerable distance from the California Family Council's worldview framework on the sanctity of life (Chapter 6), parental authority in education (Chapter 8), and religious liberty (Chapter 9).

John Christopher Harabedian was born in 1981 and raised in Sierra Madre, California, a small foothill community in the heart of what is now Assembly District 41. His father, John, is of Armenian American and Cherokee descent; the family's roots in the Los Angeles area trace back to 1907, when Harabedian's paternal great-grandparents, Tatos and Astrig, emigrated from Russian Armenia. He grew up attending St.

Harabedian built a distinguished legal career spanning public service and private practice. He clerked for a federal district court judge, then practiced as a litigator at the international law firm Latham & Watkins LLP. He served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, prosecuting criminal cases. He also worked at Stanford's Immigrants' Rights Clinic and the Equality Pro Bono Project, and later joined Omni Bridgeway as an Associate Investment Manager and Legal Counsel.

His 13.8% Biblical Values Scorecard rating across 29 scored floor votes reflects consistent divergence from CFC's worldview framework. His voting record has supported abortion access expansion over the sanctity of human life, government-directed education over parental authority and school choice, and progressive social mandates over religious liberty protections.

From CFC's perspective, Harabedian presents a mixed picture. His stated priorities of protecting abortion access and preventing gun violence place him in clear tension with CFC's positions on the sanctity of life and Second Amendment rights. However, several aspects of his record and character invite a more nuanced assessment.