Letter received from Burbank Association of Realtors
Dear Editor,
As part of our strong advocacy program, the Burbank Association of REALTORS® undertook a rigorous process of asking candidates for Burbank City Council and School Board to submit written answers to a series of questions and to meet with our Legislative Committee and Board of Directors for an interview. After intensive discussion, the Association enthusiastically announces the following:
For Burbank City Council, the Association endorses Emily Gabel-Luddy and Christopher Rizzotti. We believe both these candidates would serve the city of Burbank with distinction and with honor. Emily has already proven herself to be a thoughtful member of the Council and Chris has, during his tenure on the Planning Board, shown he can listen to all sides of an issue and make well-reasoned decisions with the goal of improving the quality of life of all residents. We are very pleased that both the Burbank Firefighters and Burbank Police have endorsed both candidates as well.
For School Board, the Association supports Steve Ferguson, Vahe Hovanessian, and Roberta Grande-Reynolds. These candidates have the backgrounds and experience to lead our school board. They understand students come first and will work to ensure that limited school dollars are spent wisely.
We urge you to return your ballots today and consider joining us in voting for Gabel-Luddy and Rizzotti; and Ferguson, Hovanessian, and Grande-Reynolds.
Sincerely,
Alisa Cunningham – President
And concerning Gabel-Luddy, you wanna see what she’s all about? Check out these two videos from the Feb. 10, 2015 City Council meeting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDWttwn5mAI&feature=youtu.be
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=zOjbPwWh7zw
Something is not completely accurate about the endorsement process stated above. Seems details were left out. Read the comment posted over a week about those details.
“RIZZOTTI endorsement by Burbank Assoc. of Realtors
Letter: Realtors aren’t the same as developers
February 10, 2015 | 2:30 p.m.
Will Rogers · Burbank, California
Mr. Benz fails to mention that it wasn’t in fact the membership of the
Burbank Association of Realtors that voted to endorse a candidate for
city council, nor even the association’s board of directors. Rather,
last year the endorsement decision was made by a committee, and that
handful did so without interviewing any other candidates. The “endorsement”
was first announced on the candidate’s web site, and was relayed on the
following day to the Association’s Board of Directors, and subsequently
to the Association’s membership.
This committee is the same
one that reportedly asked for campaign support from the Chicago-based
National Association of Realtors, again – before other candidates were
met or interviewed – and the NAR has to date has spend nearly $30,000 to
advertise that one candidate.
It wasn’t until weeks after the
initial endorsement that all of the candidates were finally interviewed
by the association, ostensibly for the remaining slot. The list of
questions all the other candidates were asked is available via the web
sites of some candidates, including my own, as well as the answers given
by the respective candidates. What discussions took place, what
questions were asked – if any, and what responses were given for that
first endorsement all remain unknown to this day.
But as that
candidate himself has said publicly, being a council member is “all
about relationships.” So, if the backroom deals and out of town money
succeed, everybody had better get to work establishing relationships
with him very quickly, because the alternative seems to be learning
after the fact what’s going on in Burbank, and playing no role in the
process to get there.
If you’re willing to believe the Chicago
group is spending $28,000 because its priority is seeing someone elected
who will defend Burbank’s schools, streets and public safety services,
then you probably also believe that a small, misshapen parcel of
taxpayer-owned land somehow becomes LESS valuable because a developer
cannot complete his project without it.”
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