Managing Burbank through the crisis

PRESS RELEASES

Community Safety

10 years ago, our Burbank Police Department had to make real, authentic changes to ensure positive improvements in the professionalism of our police department, placing community involvement and community relationships in the central position of safety and security in Burbank. They worked hard to instill additional accountability measures, layers of independent review, and adoption of body cameras to ensure that Burbank never reaps the sort of justifiable outrage stemming from bad policing that we have seen elsewhere.  In my role on Council, I will work to…

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• Propose police on bikes to help build personable relationships between our cops, residents, and small business owners. 

• Increase funding and expand the role of our City’s Mental Health Evaluation Team (MHET).

• Prioritize funding for School Resource Officers (SRO’s) to ensure our children are learning in a safe environment.

• Establish a Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) for Magnolia Park and the Media District.

Building Bridges with our Schools

As a father to two BUSD students, husband to a LAUSD high school tenured teacher for 18 years, and Board President of our local Boys and Girls Club, I am intimately aware of the challenges facing our school district during this time of crisis. Challenges such as figuring out how, or if, kids will be returning to schools this fall, and what type of child-care services will be necessary to facilitate their return if schools do reopen. As a community we are so fortunate to have such an amazing public-school system; along with an incredible faculty and staff that help to fashion our children’s future. Due to the economic and health safety pressures our school district is facing due to COVID-19 our City Council must assist our schools in any way possible. As your City Councilmember I will…

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• Propose holding regularly scheduled quarterly joint meetings between the School Board and City Council so that we have better lines of communication between the two.

• Build bridges with our business community to secure additional funding and create partnerships to create a broader community coalition to support our schools.

• Work with child-care providers in Burbank to support and enhance quality day care during the pandemic and beyond.

• Be an advocate for kids. As a parent I know the social and mental toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our youth, and I will do everything in my power to give kids the resources and opportunities they need to get through these trying times.

COVID-19 Economic Crisis

None of us were prepared for the economic and social distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and none us really know what the future holds as it relates to the economic impact this devasting virus will have on our community. I can reassure you that as a local business professional with 20 years of experience advising other businesses on how to thrive and grow I am uniquely qualified to assist businesses within our community, both large and small, on how together we can kickstart our economic recovery. This recovery is essential for our City to maintain the revenues necessary to provide the services and public safety we have all come to appreciate and expect. As a Commissioner for the past five years on the Burbank Water and Power Board I was engaged in a detailed annual review and approval process of an approximately $350,000,000.00 budget. When elected I will…

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• Provide resources for our small businesses who desperately need an infusion of cash to get back on their feet.

• Help find funding sources for our local nonprofits, who cannot rely on their usual sources of revenue at this time.

• Push the City staff to be nimble, creative, and adaptive when working with businesses to reopen in a safe and healthy manner.

• Make the right decisions with our City finances to ensure the long-term strength of our local economy.

Local Control of Housing

One of the biggest issues facing our community is the lack of affordable housing options across the board.  The solution to this housing crisis is not establishing an unaccountable rent control board or allowing Sacramento to destroy the character of our single-family neighborhoods through legislative decree.  Burbank knows what is best for Burbank and we must maintain policies of smart, measured growth tailored to the needs of our community.  We cannot let Sacramento hijack our local housing policies and must protect our single-family neighborhoods while continuing to push for revisions to our outdated housing policies to create greater incentive for smart growth opportunities in our community.  As your Councilmember I will…

• Fight for Local Control, which is non-negotiable!

• Protect the character and nature of our neighborhoods.

• Ensure smart, measured growth in Burbank.

• Expedite updating the specific plan for Downtown Burbank.