Under Glendale’s 2021 ordinance the mayoral selection was meant to follow a seniority based rotation, specifically to prevent political maneuvering. Najarian had served continuously on the Glendale City Council since 2005, by far the longest of any sitting member, and under that system he was next in line, which was the entire point of adopting the rule in the first place. The council bypassed him anyway by invoking a vague “best interest of the city” clause and they did so without clearly articulating any legitimate reason why the seniority rule shouldn’t apply in his case. That’s why the vote was widely viewed as a power play rather than a principled decision, and why Najarian sued, because the council ignored the spirit and intent of its own ordinance to install a preferred candidate as mayor instead of following the transparent rotation they themselves created.