Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Dave Golonski elected mayor by Burbank City Council May 1, 2012
I watched the reorganization meeting of the Burbank City Council on the city website this morning. I spoke later with someone who had been in the city council chambers during that all important meeting and we both agreed it was unusually quick and somber, but with one major surprise. Vice-Mayor Dave Golonski getting the votes to move up to mayor, from all of his fellow council members except Dr. David Gordon, was a no brainer. So was the council majority’s decision to hand the vice-mayor title to the newest council member, Emily Gabel-Luddy. You might remember at last May’s reorganization meeting of the council, Luddy delivered what appeared to many and some say she has admitted was a political payback — a thanks for guiding my campaign to victory– to Golonski by nominating him for vice-mayor. So no surprise there. The surprise was in the strange way it was done with Councilman Gary Bric as the catalyst.
This is how it went down. Councilman Bric nominated Golonski for mayor. Later, when outgoing mayor, Jess Talamantes, nominated Bric for vice-mayor, he declined, citing the demands of his restaurant business. Then, Bric offered this bizarre explanation: “I think everyone is entitled to, be able to have an opportunity, to become vice-mayor or mayor, but I truly believe you can’t nominate someone that’s going into an election year. We do have three people who will be up for election in 2012. So I appreciate the nomination, the confidence, but I would like to make a substitute motion and nominate Miss Emily Gabel-Luddy.” What?! Who are the three council members up for re-election? Golonski, Talamantes, and Gordon. Bric nominated Golonski for mayor!!!! Clearly, this was another ploy to try to veil the council majority’s prejudice against Dr. Gordon — to justify the continued discrimination against Gordon for either vice-mayor or mayor. A shameless display.
So Golonski, the most veteran and most powerful member of the city council, will serve as mayor for the FOURTH time. In his brief comments, Golonski says the “dominant theme” for the coming year will be community engagement. Golonski says he wants Burbank to be “… the most transparent city in California — if not the nation.” Interesting.
