I am a Burbank resident and a small Business Owner who loves our city and its residents. As a Marine Corps veteran I fought for our country and now I want to fight for the residents of our city.
Burbank is a great city with unique and wonderful neighborhoods. As a former U.S Marine I understand how important neighborhoods ,residents, and our community are to protect.and preserve.
City of Burbank - City Council
City Council — City of Burbank
Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the City Council — City of Burbank
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
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About this office
Members of the city council draft and vote on city laws and appoint certain municipal officers and employees.
You must select at least 2 candidates to compare them.
Candidates
You can vote for 3 of these 8 candidates.
Juan Guillen
Small Business Owner
Top 3 Priorities
- BUDGET
- SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION
- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Profile
Endorsed by
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Gregory R. Sousa
Studio Transportation Driver
Top 3 Priorities
- Protecting our residential neighborhoods by putting...
- Protecting our quality of life by bringing our police...
- Protecting due process by making city government accountable...
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Endorsed by
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David Gordon
Optometrist
Top 3 Priorities
- Economic Development: We must optimize our exisitng...
- Housing: We need new strategies to provide attainable...
- Infrastructure: We must invest in our infrastructure...
Profile
Endorsed by
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Robert "Bob" Frutos
Retired Police Officer
Top 3 Priorities
- Balanced Budget
- Neighborhood protection
- Balanced Development
Profile
Endorsed by
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Honorable Congressman Adam SchiffHonorable State Senator, Anthony PortantinoCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Gary BricCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Jef VanderBorghtCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Mary Lou HowardCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Robert R. BowneCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Michael HastingsCity of Burbank, Past Mayor, Larry L. StamperHonorable State Assemblymember, Laura Friedman
Richard G. Carr
Retired property manager
Top 3 Priorities
- To counter the trend toward overbuilding
- Create safer neighborhood plan
- Correct morale and staffing issues in the BPD
Profile
Endorsed by
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Sharon Springer
Nonprofit Administration
Top 3 Priorities
- Traffic/Transit/Transportation Reduce vehicular traffic...
- Housing Affordability - Finding legitimate ways to...
- A long term balanced budget. It will require looking...
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Endorsed by
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Konstantine Anthony
Social Media Manager
Top 3 Priorities
- Burbank-style Rent Control: By making rental prices...
- Homelessness: We must build a homeless shelter and...
- Community Policing: We need to incentivize the City...
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Endorsed by
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Los Angeles County Democratic PartyDemocratic Party of the San Fernando ValleyBurbank Democratic ClubMichael DiVirgilio, Mayor, Hermosa Beach (ret)
Top 3 Priorities
Jess A. Talamantes's priorities are not yet available.
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Profile
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Small Business Owner
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My Top 3 Priorities
- BUDGET
- SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION
- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Experience
Experience
Profession:Small Business Owner
Library Board of Trustee, Burbank Library Board — Appointed position (2013–current)
Education
Cal State Northrudge — B.S., Sociology (2003)
Community Activities
Captain, Trustee, Burbank Veterans of Foreign Wars (2012–current)
Treasure, Committe Member, Character & Ethics Committee member (2012–current)
Participant & Team Captain, Relay For Life Burbank (2004–current)
Past President, Program Chair, Burbank Sunrise Rotary President (2005–current)
Member, Kiwanis Club of Burbank (2013–current)
Biography
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
Our city needs leadership that encourages resident involvement and listens to the voices of our residents, I will reach out to residents and communicate better with residents. My commitment is to include residents in every decision made, because the greatest asset in Burbank is YOU the resident.
Working together we can not only preserve what makes Burbank unique and great, together we can make it even better for the future.
I will bring a new dedication and at 37 years old a youthful energy and commitment to your city council. I am committed to bringing SERVICE back to your city hall. This is my commitment to YOU!
Position Papers
BUDGET & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Summary
Addressing Budget issues & Economic Development
BUDGET:
Addressing budget issues and wasteful spending
End tax dollar giveaways
Full and open accountability
Effective and efficient spending of your tax dollars
Long Range planning
Infrastructure must be maintained and improved
Unfunded pension liability
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Development that brings high paying jobs
Opportunities for work force training
Partner with schools to provide job and college ready graduates
Common sense development that provides maximum benefits and minimum impacts
SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION & QUALITY OF LIFE
Summary
Protecting & Preserving Residents Quality of Life
SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION:
Preserving our neighborhood character and quality of life. Requiring that all projects must have adequate parking on site. Increased police patrol to address speeding traffic. QUALITY OF LIFE: Reduce traffic congestion Maintain and improve our parks Support for our Library Services Support Services for our Seniors Addressing our aging infrastructure Minimize the impacts of airport development Maintain our streets and sidewalks Keeping utility rates as low as possibleCITY SAFETY SERVICES & GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY
Summary
Support and maintain our excellent Emergency Services & Create Government Accountability
CITY SAFETY SERVICES:
Support our Police Department and maintain our fast response time
Support and maintain our excellent Fire Services
GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY:
Bringing greater transparency to city government
Full and open accountability
Leadership that reaches out to residents
Videos (1)
Policy Positions
— January 30, 2017 Save Burbank Neighborhoods
Answering questions from concerned residents.
Candidate Contact Info
Studio Transportation Driver
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Protecting our residential neighborhoods by putting a stop to irresponsible development.
- Protecting our quality of life by bringing our police department to full strength.
- Protecting due process by making city government accountable to the people who actually live in Burbank.
Candidate Contact Info
Optometrist
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Economic Development: We must optimize our exisitng resources to create new economic opportunities and support our small businesses. We need workforce and career technical training for today's high tech, high tech, high paying jobs. payi.
- Housing: We need new strategies to provide attainable housing across a broad range of household needs, incomes and ages. Workforce housing and economic development are critically linked.
- Infrastructure: We must invest in our infrastructure to the greatest extent possible to fix our roads, optimize our traffic signalization and maintain our public facilities to keep our lights on, our water flowing and reduce traffic congestion.
Experience
Experience
Profession:Optometrist
Optometrist, Self-Employed (1982–current)
Councilmember, Burbank City Council — Elected position (2006–current)
Mayor, Burbank City Council — Appointed position (2014–2015)
Planning Board Member, Burbank Planning Board — Appointed position (1995–1999)
Education
UC Berkeley — Doctor of Optometry (O.D.), Clinical Optometry (1979)
UCLA and UC Berkeley — Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Physiological Optics (1978)
Community Activities
Member Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee, National League of Cities (2015–current)
Member, Burbank Chamber of Commerce (1982–current)
Member Administrative Services Committee, League of California Cities (1997–1999)
Candidate Contact Info
Retired Police Officer
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Balanced Budget
- Neighborhood protection
- Balanced Development
Experience
Biography
I served as a proud member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 29 years. I worked in various assignments to include: Youth Services Officer and Community Liaison Officer (Office of the Chief).
I have extensive experience in bringing the community and local agencies together to find solutions that address problems to make a difference. I’ve worked with the Explorers as a Youth Services Program Coordinator for nine years and I was successful in building strong community ties with local businesses and residents to build support for the programs that I oversaw. I know the value of investing in our youth through collaborative efforts with the school district and partnerships with local non-profit organizations.
I have been serving the Burbank community for over 13 years. In 2003, I served as a Police Commissioner and in 2013 elected to the Burbank City Council. I respectfully ask for your vote for re-election to City Council to continue to work hard on the ongoing challenges we face:
Who supports this candidate?
Elected Officials (9)
- Honorable Congressman Adam Schiff
- Honorable State Senator, Anthony Portantino
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Gary Bric
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Jef VanderBorght
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Mary Lou Howard
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Robert R. Bowne
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Michael Hastings
- City of Burbank, Past Mayor, Larry L. Stamper
- Honorable State Assemblymember, Laura Friedman
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
As Mayor, I am proud to have led the City Council to accomplish the following:
Balanced budget with a 5-0 vote,
Mid-year funding to bring Police Department to Full Strength,
Passed Interim Development Control Ordinance –Neighborhood, Design Guidelines
Allocated additional 1.2 Million towards street repairs
Introduced Special Olympics Host Town
I have worked with all members of council and will continue to make myself available to work with all members of our community to continue to ensure Burbank thrives as the city we love. Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate your vote.
For more information please visit www.bobfrutosforcitycouncil.com.
Candidate Contact Info
Retired property manager
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My Top 3 Priorities
- To counter the trend toward overbuilding
- Create safer neighborhood plan
- Correct morale and staffing issues in the BPD
Candidate Contact Info
Nonprofit Administration
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Traffic/Transit/Transportation Reduce vehicular traffic while expanding and improving public transit and enhancing pedestrian and bicycle access
- Housing Affordability - Finding legitimate ways to reduce housing construction costs, and enhancing our incumbent work force's ability to participate in the robust Burbank job market and increasing median household income.
- A long term balanced budget. It will require looking outside the traditional means of property tax, sales tax and rate payer fees.
Candidate Contact Info
Social Media Manager
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Burbank-style Rent Control: By making rental prices more competitive for middle-class residents in Burbank, renters will have more money to spend. This will boost the city's economy and stimulate the growth of new jobs.
- Homelessness: We must build a homeless shelter and create a system to help solve the intersectional crises of mental illness, drug addiction, and rampant poverty. We can create a more inclusive society and a healthier, more fortunate Burbank.
- Community Policing: We need to incentivize the City of Burbank to hire police officers from within our community and to encourage current officers to live closer to the city they serve.
Experience
Experience
Profession:Social Media Manager
Property Manager, Various (2012–current)
Education
San Francisco State University — Cinema Studies (2004)
Community Activities
Teacher/Manager, CSz Worldwide (2001–current)
Activist, Autism Self Advocacy Network Los Angeles (2015–current)
Community Manager/Content Curator, Disability Action for America (2016–current)
Teacher of "Improv for Autism", The Second City, Inc. (2015–2016)
Biography
For the past year, I have been a community manager and content curator for Disability Action for America (formerly Disability Action for Hillary). For the last few years, I have been an active member of the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), joining protests and marches to bring awareness and reduce stigma about mental health and autism rights.
I studied film and television at San Francisco State, which had more than half of its students commute in from per an hour away. The campus was a small-scale melting pot of students from all demographics and all walks of life. To me, it was an eye-opening experience that taught me more about people and society than any books or professors ever could.
For 15 years, I have been a performer, teacher, and manager for ComedySportz, an improv theater company with 30 locations nationwide. My experience with this company has allowed me to travel to many different states and interact with citizens from a myriad of different cities and backgrounds all across our country. It has given me a rare opportunity to see how people live and work outside of my sphere. Being committed to a single organization for such a long time, I have become accustomed to working with the good and the bad changes and not letting disappointment cloud or dissuade my efforts.
As a ride-share operator, I have seen first-hand an increase in the number of carpool users and a maximized use of clean-air vehicles. I am currently in talks with these rideshare companies to get involved at the city level and revamp the Burbank bus system, in hopes of lowering the total number of cars owned and increasing total bus ridership.
My years of experience in property management and lease negotiation makes me uniquely qualified to tackle Burbank’s rising housing costs, which in turn adversely affect local businesses run by local citizens. Property owners who are out of touch with the local economy tend to make uninformed investments and expansions. My goal is to keep the informational power in the hands of thriving local small businesses.
Who supports this candidate?
Featured Endorsements
- Los Angeles County Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley
- Burbank Democratic Club
Individuals (1)
- Michael DiVirgilio, Mayor, Hermosa Beach (ret)
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
I'm running because Burbank is a vibrant city mired in old thinking. I firmly believe that a new voice needs to be heard in Burbank. Many large projects and expansions are underway or soon to be underway in the city, and my concern is that growth without oversight would do much to harm working families and the environment and compromise liberal values. I want to be an agent of change for the betterment of Burbank.
Position Papers
Homelessness in Burbank
Summary
My strategy to alleviate homelessness in our city
My comprehensive strategy to alleviate the homelessness in Burbank is not only for the benefit of those in need but also for the city in general. When prospective buyers see a rising homeless population in their potential neighborhood, they’re hesitant to invest in our city. By helping those at the bottom get a leg up, we create a more inclusive society and a healthier, more fortunate Burbank. We also have a growing population of Burbank citizens who are unable to find affordable housing through no fault of their own. For all these reasons and more, we need to build a shelter and create a system where we are solving the intersectional crises of mental illness, drug addiction, and rampant poverty.
Affordable Rents in Burbank
Summary
People who work in Burbank should be able to live in Burbank.
I want to make housing more affordable in Burbank. By making rental prices more competitive in this city overall, it will encourage more people to move here with more money in their pockets to spend here. This will boost the economy of Burbank and stimulate the growth of new jobs in this city. New housing and new jobs always bring more tax revenue, but I’m also seeking to add a 0.25% housing tax on all rental properties in the city of Burbank to generate a large influx of city revenue, enforce housing regulations, and combat the aggressive corporate price-gouging against working-class families. Large-scale developments and high-priced housing bring much-needed housing and jobs to Burbank but do not benefit the middle class – the backbone of any suburban city with a small-town legacy. As council member, I will work with any developers who want to build in Burbank as long as they seek to build affordable housing, add well-paying jobs, are pro-union, pro-environment, and seek to reinvest their profits back into the city.
Videos (5)
Policy Positions
— February 6, 2017 Konstantine Anthony for Burbank City Council
Recording of the Town Hall meeting that took place on Wednesday, February 1, at Romancing the Bean on Magnolia Blvd in Burbank.
Discussion includes: the rental crisis in Burbank, development, overdevelopment, homelessness, and transparency & collaboration between the city government and the people it represents.
Policy Positions
— February 6, 2017 Konstantine Anthony for Burbank City Council 2017
A more in-depth look at my plan to solve the rental crisis in Burbank.
Policy Positions
— February 6, 2017 Mike Moynahan & Roy Wiegand, Save Burbank Neighborhoods
Mike and Roy ask the candidates questions submitted by members of Save Burbank Neighborhoods. Topics include why Burbank is such a great place to live and why that is under threat, the BHA's misappropriation of $50,000 to campaign for Measure B, the current city council's over-reliance on city staff and much more.
Policy Positions
— February 6, 2017 The Burbank Channel
Policy Positions
— February 6, 2017 Burbank On Demand: Burbank City Council Meeting 12-20-2016
Homelessness is deeply personal to me, and I will never stop fighting for those in need.
Candidate Contact Info
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