Photo courtesy David Nos
Former Burbank School Board member and business owner, David Nos, is campaigning for one of two seats on the Burbank City Council. Nos is making a second run for the city council. In 2013, Nos qualified for the general election ballot, but fell short of winning enough votes for one of two seats available. Nos came in fourth behind three incumbents, David Gordon, Jess Talamantes, and Dave Golonski. Gordon and Talamantes had the most votes, therefore, winning re-election .
Here are the responses from Nos to the questions I sent out to all the candidates running for city council in the 2015 Burbank elections.
1. Why are you the best candidate for a seat on the Burbank City Council?
I have served the Burbank Community as an elected official as a member and president of the Board of Education, so I have the experience of working with a taxpayer driven budget and in union/labor negotiations.
I have been involved in the community for over 50 years including past president of the Chamber of Commerce, and appointments to Library Board and Civil Service Board.
I believe, more than most other candidates, I have the ability to sit down and be a functioning councilperson almost immediately.
I also have the ability to bridge gaps which will aid in building consensus among the council members. Communication and dialogue are critical. We all have something important to say and I for one know how to listen and understand as well as to speak and be heard.
2. What are the major problems facing the city that you can help solve?
Burbank faces a host of challenges:
Keeping the Budget Balanced
Keeping the tax base strong so our city services remain at the levels our residents and
businesses are accustomed.
Traffic concerns due to the shut down of major streets for the construction of the
Empire off-ramp, the shutting down of the Burbank Blvd. Overpass and the recently
approved new developments at Talaria and Cypress.
Repairing our streets and infrastructure.
Keeping Neighborhood integrity.
I can help by making sure I am prepared to deal with all budgetary concerns from revenue generation to budget cuts (if necessary).
I can work with Staff and existing Community organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Realtors to actively seek out businesses that can move to Burbank. We need Businesses that can complement our current base while being able to expand and adapt to new technologies. In order to make this happen we need to better streamline the permit process and work to make it a little friendlier for businesses to open and/or relocate to here.
The City wide construction will cause huge amounts of traffic congestion. We need to explore the possibilities of establishing a City-Wide transportation system that can help move people from one point to another.
The balance between business and neighborhoods must be maintained. And while we can’t stop progress, we can certainly make sure that one of the most important attraction to Burbank it’s small-town feel remains in tact. That is best accomplished through proper planning and open communication to our citizens.
3. What are the biggest concerns of residents? What do you think the city council should do to alleviate those concerns?
As I walk door-to-door – the biggest concern is traffic.
Neighborhoods are seeing an increasing amount of cars speeding through their neighborhoods, not stopping for stop signs and not paying attention to any pedestrian activity.
I think we need to identify those streets that are having the most issues and establish a strong traffic control presence through motor officers, more signage and the friendly digital reminders that show us our speed. It may be wise to consider lowering the residential speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph and level heavier fines to violators
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https://www.facebook.com/DaveNosBurbank
Q & A with other city council candidates
