The race for Burbank City Council is heating up. Police Commissioner, Elise Stearns-Niesen, announced her candidacy in a letter posted on the Burbank Leader website yesterday. Stearns-Niesen, the former chair and ex-vice-chair of that commission, promised to take the high road in her quest for a seat on the city council: “I will run a positive campaign, one in which I will display integrity and honesty in all my interactions and treat all that I encounter with the utmost respect.”
An educator and long-time resident of Burbank, Stearns-Niesen has been a council candidate before. She ran in 2009, but did not win a seat on the council. Stearns-Niesen is the third candidate to jump into the race. Realtor and Burbank Planning Board member, Chris Rizzotti, was the first to announce his candidacy back in March, followed this summer by veteran journalist, Will Rogers.
This city council race is off to a very fast start. Usually, candidates wait until November to officially announce. That’s when they are required to pull nominating papers at the City Clerk’s Office. Several other potential candidates are holding meet and greets, coffee chats, and fundraisers, City council candidates Emily Gabel-Luddy and Gary Bric are up for re-election. The buzz is Bric is not going to run, but Gabel-Luddy will.
Last night, the city council approved an ordinance setting February 24, 2015 as the date for the Primary Nominating Election and April 14, 2015 for the General Municipal Election.
