A newcomer to Burbank politics found himself in the driver’s seat in the race for a City Council seat in Burbank on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Konstantine Anthony led the pack after Election Day, ahead of candidate Nick Schultz and Tamala Takahashi for two seats on the dais, leaving current Councilmember Timothy Murphy in the dust.
“I’m very excited about the results,” Anthony said. “It’s a long time coming. I ran a very bold and progressive campaign. I’m the candidate that got the most votes because the voters demanded change.”
Schultz, who according to semifinal voting results appears to have won the second seat on the council, was cautious in claiming victory until the results were confirmed over the next few days.
“From the outset of this campaign, I declared that even if I didn’t win, I wanted to make sure the issues that matter are made central to this race,” Schultz said. “I wanted to bring front and center the challenges that Burbank residents are facing, and the solutions that will improve their lives. I am confident that we achieved that, and that in itself is a victory. ”
Burbank residents headed to the polls Tuesday to fill two City Council vacancies and the fate of Measure RC, an eviction and rent regulation tool.
Most of the candidates opposed the measure, which needed a simple majority to pass.
Anthony was a co-author of what appeared to be the failing measure.
“We are confident most of Burbank wanted rent control, but our voters had issues with this specific measure and its inner workings, so we will introduce a new version of this measure in the new session when the new council members are seated,” Anthony said.
See the latest election results.
There were eight candidates vying to fill one seat vacated by Councilmember Emily Gabel-Luddy who did not seek reelection and a second left vacant when the mayor died in 2018.
It was the city’s first local election coinciding with a federal election. A higher turnout was expected. There are about 108,000 people who live within the 17.35 square-mile city limits.
The two successful candidates, who will be sworn in on Dec. 8, will grapple with the economic recovery from the coronavirus, crime and police funding, increased homelessness, providing more housing, increased traffic and more planned transportation opportunities all within this year’s $670-million operating budget.
Councilmember Tim Murphy, who was appointed to replace former Mayor Will Rogers who died from liver cancer and served as a council member from 1989 to 1992 was against Measure RC.
“Measure RC would be a disaster for our city,” said Murphy, an attorney. “Rent control passed the state and went into law in January of this year. We do not know enough about it to change it locally.”
His challengers include Linda Bessin, 59, who has lived in Burbank for almost 30 years and saw an unprecedented economic and social crisis in her city.
“Up to 40 percent of women are homeless due to domestic violence,” said Bessin, a retired claims analyst. “The current percentage of homeless veterans has increased due to the pandemic. What is most important is that we do not criminalize homelessness.”
Anthony, 39 and co-author of Measure RC, also wants a seat on the dais. Three years ago, he made an unsuccessful run at the Burbank City Council
“My long-term economic policies include a citywide increase to the minimum wage and a universal basic income pilot program,” Anthony said. “As for our business climate, Burbank’s Magnolia Park clearly represents the failures of a city that ignores its small businesses.”
Takahashi, 49, is a member of the Burbank Infrastructure Oversight Board. Her goals were to support businesses, improve Burbank’s accessibility and safety for all modes of travel and promised to work for clean energy and environmentally conscious policies.
“Most of my work right now is around the Magnolia Park area as well as advocating for safer ways for our teens and young adults to get around our city without a car,” said Takahashi, a nonprofit administrator and businesswoman.
Actor Michael Lee Gogin, 65, was one of the candidates running for an elected political position for the first time.
“The media industry is an economic power house in Burbank, that’s why we need a filming commission to make sure that the industry stays here and grows, so everyone can be employed,” Gogin said.
Paul Herman, 43, along with Nick Schultz, 32, and Anthony were top campaign money raisers.
Herman’s impetus to run for the council seat was rooted in the coronavirus and his children making it clear to him the importance of local elected officials’ role in shaping Burbank’s future.
“Every day I see more businesses and restaurants shuttering their doors forever,” Herman said. “The only silver lining is that this calamity may force our city to cut the bureaucracy and red tape, so that we can be adaptive in our approach to existing businesses and streamline the process of opening new businesses.”
Schultz, a state deputy attorney general and first-time candidate, had said if elected he would support the implementation of common-sense limits on the use of force including a ban on chokeholds and strangleholds, revise the department’s use of force policy, adopt a use of force continuum that creates clear policy guidance as to when officers can and should use particular weapons or tactics and advocate for increased implicit bias training for all officers and employees.
“Not every member of our community has had a positive experience,” Schultz said.
Sharis Manokian, the youngest candidate, grew up attending civil rights rallies, women’s rights protests and Armenian Genocide marches. She recently realized the greatest way she could affect change was through policy and political reform.
“I would like to implement some form of commercial rent controls,” Manokian said. “I want to create an online database where business owners can connect and new business owners can find resources for opening up stores in Burbank.”
