Good news for voters and folks who want to be in the know. You can now watch the upcoming Burbank candidates forums live from the comfort of your own living room or wherever you do your TV watching. The forums for city council and school board candidates are sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Glendale/ Burbank. Earlier, league president, Thomas Carson, told the public, in a letter to the Leader and Media City Groove, the forums would be taped and broadcast later on the Burbank Channel, indicating there would not be a live feed. However, that has changed.
Last Friday, City Hall sent out a news release stating the forums would be carried live as well as taped for broadcast later. The forums will be held next Tuesday, January 20, in the city council chambers at City Hall, 275 East Olive Avenue. The forum for city council candidates begins at 7 p.m., followed by the school board candidates’ forum at around 8:15 p.m.
The league is asking the public to submit questions in advance for the candidates. You have until 6 p.m. tomorrow to get those questions in by telephone at (818) 925-4598 or by email at CityCouncilForum@lwvglendaleburbank.org or SchoolBoardForum@lwvglendaleburbank.org.
Also, the public is invited to a series of “meet and greet events” with the candidates in the 2015 Burbank elections, are coming up soon. The events will be from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. on the following days at these locations: Monday, January 26, at Bellarmine Jefferson High School, Monday, February 9, at Burbank High School, Wednesday, February 11, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Wednesday, February 18, at the Burroughs High School.
Burbank City Clerk’s Office is co-sponsoring the events. For more information go here or call (818) 238-5851 or email cityclerks@burbankca.gov .
The first round of financial statements from the 2015 candidates were due last Thursday, January 15. In the city council candidates race , Burbank Planning Board member, Chris Rizzotti, is way ahead of the other five contenders with more than $16,000 raised so far. At the low-end, Sustainable Burbank commissioner, Sharon Springer, with $1,275.00.
In the school board derby, Dr. Armond Aghakhanian has collected more than $9,000 to lead the pack of seven . On the low-end, incumbent, Roberta Reynolds, and Burbank parent, Greg Sousa, have agreed to spend no more than $1,000 each on their campaigns. Get more numbers and details by clicking on a candidate’s name here. Financial statements on forms 460.
I received a number of press releases from candidates over the past few days. The Armenian National Committee of America-Burbank (ANCA–B) announced endorsements for Emily Gabel-Luddy for Burbank City Council, and Armond Aghakhanian, Steve Ferguson, Vahe Hovanessian, and Roberta Reynolds for Burbank Board of Education.
“We confronted a couple of unusual challenges in working on our endorsements,” explained ANCA–B co-chair Gaidzag Shahbazian in the release. “In the City Council race, it was a straightforward choice to endorse Emily who has helped our community during her term on Council. We opted not to endorse another candidate for City Council. In the School Board race, we had worked with and had endorsed four of the candidates in prior elections. So, even though there are only three seats up for election, we are endorsing four candidates and asking our supporters to choose three of them that they see as the best choices.”
Ferguson and Reynolds sent out a joint news release commenting on this endorsement:
Reynolds said, “I am humbled to have the support of the ANCA as we continue to create safe and healthy learning environments for all of our students.”
Ferguson added, “I am so grateful for the support of the ANCA. They are joining a coalition of organizations that continue to point to Dr. Reynolds and I as the leaders who are qualified to build the coalitions in our community to give our students the very best.”
Also, Aghakhanian sent out a press release this week touting a slew of endorsements among them; Burbank Teachers Association, Los Angeles County Democratic Party, Burbank School Board members Dave Kemp, Ted Bunch, Charlene Tabet, Burbank City Council members, Jess Talamantes, and Emily Gabel-Luddy, and former Burbank City Council members Marsha Ramos, Anja Reinke, and Dave Golonski. A list of endorsements here on Aghakhanian’s website.
