Accountability Is Key Issue as 3 Seek Burbank City Clerk Post

Three women, including the assistant city clerk, are vying to become Burbank city clerk in a campaign that has stressed the need for openness and public accountability.

Incumbent Evelyn Haley, who decided not to seek reelection to a fourth term, was intensely criticized last fall when proponents of a citizens’ initiative calling for the creation of councilmanic districts charged that she was attempting to prevent the initiative from appearing on Tuesday’s ballot.

Haley, who said her decision to retire was not related to the charges, has repeatedly denied those allegations. She eventually agreed to place the initiative on the ballot against the recommendation of the city attorney and despite her own reservations about its legality.

All three candidates, including Assistant City Clerk Merle L. Maurer, who has been endorsed by Haley, have stressed the city clerk’s role as an information officer committed to serving the public.

Lack ‘All the Answers’

“We don’t have all the answers, but we try to get them,” Maurer said at a candidates’ forum last week. “Our office is the information office for the city.”

Maurer, 63, who has worked as assistant city clerk for the last 12 years, has promoted herself as the only truly qualified candidate for the job. She said her experience in the city clerk’s office and her familiarity with City Hall--she also worked for the city attorney for seven years--would ensure a swift and smooth transition when Haley retires in May.

“I know the job, and no other candidate can really make that statement,” she said. “You have that much invested in me.” Maurer has been endorsed by all five Burbank City Council members, four city employee organizations and the Burbank Board of Realtors.

Dianne R. Maritt, 40, an accountant and former executive secretary, has emphasized her office experience and qualifications for the job, but spent most of her time at the candidate’s forum promising to “promote openness” in the clerk’s office.

“People felt that there were many issues they weren’t getting information on,” and she would work to assure citizens that “they are being told the truth,” she said.

Would Write Weekly Column

If elected, Maritt said, she would establish a weekly column in the local newspaper in which she would answer questions and discuss issues important to residents. Maritt is married to Thomas L. Brookman, a candidate for City Council.

Carmelina (Millie) Montante, 52, also an accountant, describes the clerk’s job as a “bookkeeper and secretary rolled into one” and disputes Maurer’s contention that she and Maritt are less qualified for the position.

Montante said her experience as an accounting manager at an insurance firm, as an official with the District of California Civitan International and as a community volunteer allows her “to adapt to a different field with ease and competence.”

Montante, who characterized the clerk’s duties as “straightforward,” said “one need not have worked in the company to come in and manage it.”

In reference to the controversy last fall surrounding Haley’s handling of the ballot initiative, Montante pledged not to be “intimidated” by anyone in City Hall. “I would have done anything to have gotten it on the ballot at the time,” she said.