Ara Najarian has served on the Glendale City Council since 2005 and has served five terms as Mayor, making him the longest-serving Councilmember and the individual who has held the Mayorship the most times in Glendale history.

Since 2006, Ara has represented 13 North County and San Fernando Valley cities on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). He served as Chair of the Metro Board from 2009–2010 and again from 2022–2023.

Ara is a past Chair of the Board of Metrolink, the six-county regional rail agency, where he has served since 2006. He also represented Glendale on the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments from 2010 to 2024, including two years as Chair. In addition, he has served on the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority and currently serves as a Commissioner of the Hollywood Burbank Airport Commission, where he served as President from 2024–2025.

Before joining the City Council, Ara was elected to the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees in 2003 and served until his election to the City Council in 2005. Prior to that, he served for seven years on the City of Glendale Transportation and Parking Commission, including two years as Chair.

Ara has practiced law in Glendale for more than 30 years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Occidental College and a Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law. He previously worked for U.S. Congressman Carlos Moorhead in Washington, D.C., and in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He has also served as a mediator and Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court 

Ara is the father of two sons, a grandfather, and is married to national news anchor Palmira Perez.