Burbank’s Old Guard Takes Stock : Ex-Officials, Still Stung by Ousters, Adjust to New Roles

They are still friends, but they rarely see each other anymore.

When they do, the past is not discussed. They joke and talk about the way things are without them at Burbank City Hall, and congratulate each other on how much they’ve recovered since being forced to leave Burbank politics last year.

But privately, they are still saddened by their individual defeats and “resignations.” They are reminded of the pain they felt when they left, especially when they drive around Burbank and see the progress of projects they initiated. The hurt, which has healed somewhat with time, remains.

Discussions these days around City Hall focus more on redevelopment and the completion at the end of this month of Mayor Mary Lou Howard’s one-year term than on the present whereabouts of E. Daniel Remy and Larry Stamper. Remy and Stamper were longtime fixtures in Burbank city government until they were soundly defeated in their bids for reelection when Howard backed three challengers to their seats.

And conversations only occasionally drift to the current activities of former City Atty. William B. Rudell and former City Manager Andrew Lazzaretto, both forced to resign when the newly constituted council, dominated by Howard and the three successful challengers, took office last May.

Still Live in Burbank

All four of the former officials still live in Burbank, but only two, Stamper and Remy, continue to work in the city. Remy, Stamper and Rudell are involved in varying degrees with local service groups and civic associations. Lazzaretto withdrew from the local chapter of the Kiwanis Club when he resigned.

They all have at least a casual knowledge of current affairs at City Hall, and most of them say the quality of leadership in the council has dramatically deteriorated since they left office. They are critical of what they call indecisive leadership.

But they say their interest in local affairs stems only from their status as taxpayers. Stamper, Rudell and Lazzaretto insist they have no plans to become involved in politics--in Burbank or any other city.

Stamper, 50, is a minister at the First United Methodist Church in Burbank who served one four-year term on the council. He is concentrating on his church and his role on several community boards, including the Burbank Sister City Committee, which coordinates activities with foreign cities.

Remy, 51, an executive at Lockheed Corp. and a two-term council veteran, is planning to move with other corporate officials to Lockheed’s new headquarters in Calabasas, Stamper said. Remy, who finished last among council candidates running for three council seats, did not return phone calls to his office by The Times.

Rudell, 46, served on the council and as a Burbank Airport commissioner during his 15 years in local government. He joined the Los Angeles law firm of Richards, Watson, Dreyfuss and Gershon last November as a municipal and corporate law attorney.

And Lazzaretto, 43, who came to Burbank in 1983 after being forced to resign as city manager of Alhambra, became an independent consultant for several cities last October. He also is a consultant for Willdan & Associates, an engineering consulting firm that works with city governments.

During last year’s campaign, all four were branded by Howard as the “Old Boy” faction, cronies who allegedly made secret plans and deals with developers to bring major development to Burbank without consideration of the consequences to residential neighborhoods.

In reply, Remy told voters that Howard and the three challengers she backed--Michael R. Hastings, Mary E. Kelsey and Al F. Dossin--wanted to return Burbank to the “awkward, decaying little town that it was 10 or 15 years ago.”

Remy predicted that a council headed by Howard would fire Lazzaretto, Rudell and “anyone else who gets in its way” in order to halt further growth.

Sought to Work With Council

In last year’s election, Stamper and Remy placed fifth and sixth, respectively, out of six candidates running for three council seats. Kelsey, Hastings and Dossin placed first, second and third.

After the election, both Rudell and Lazzaretto, concerned about job security, voiced their desire to work with the new council. At the same time, Howard indicated that Rudell and Lazaretto should both start looking for other jobs. She said they were not “people persons.” Two weeks after Howard was appointed mayor on May 1, the council ordered Lazzaretto and Rudell to resign.

Although the four are gone, they are not forgotten.

Hardly a week goes by that Howard doesn’t make at least one reference to the “openness” of the new administration, in contrast to what she paints as the antagonistic, closed-door approach of the previous administration. Citywide problems now being faced by the council--such as traffic headaches, lessened potential for development in the Media District and conflicts between residential and commercial neighborhoods--are also blamed by officials on the previous administrations.

Recalling the election and its aftermath last week, Stamper said his colleagues “did move rapidly. The time was right and the developers were there. We wanted the image of Burbank to change, and we saw it change. But maybe it was too fast for some people.”

‘Gutless Leadership’

But Stamper and Rudell said the present council has dodged difficult issues. Stamper referred to the council’s recent appointment of two citizen advisory committees to study planning in two areas--the city’s horse-oriented Rancho area and the Media District, headquarters for several film and television studios--as an example of “gutless leadership,” and Rudell agreed.

They also attacked the council’s inaction in deciding the status of anti-noise advocate Margie Gee. Gee was appointed by the council to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority last year, but is also one of the plaintiffs in a $20-million homeowner lawsuit against the airport.

Gee has refused pleas from officials that she either resign from the authority or drop out of the lawsuit. She is prevented by conflict-of-interest laws from voting on noise issues.

“I can’t understand it, why she isn’t removed,” Rudell said. “No one on the council is willing to bite the bullet.”

But Howard dismissed as “sour grapes” several of the criticisms by Stamper and Rudell.

‘Involving the Community’

“No matter what they say, this council is dealing with the issues that are facing the city, and doing it in a way that is involving the community,” Howard said. “We’re receiving input from people directly affected by the problems, and we are also getting the reactions of realtors and Chamber of Commerce members. Their recommendations come to the council, and we make the final decisions.”

Howard also said the council has delayed making a decision on Gee’s appointment “because we wanted to be as fair to her as we could. The homeowners finally had a voice on the commission.”

Several weeks after the issue arose, the council asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission for an opinion on Gee’s potential conflict of interest.

Councilman Robert R. Bowne, who was the only incumbent besides Howard when the council changed last year, said the atmosphere is not as emotionally charged under the current council. Although the former council would probably have taken swifter action in determining Gee’s status, he appreciates the new openness of the current council, he said.

Life After City Hall

The former officials said there is no lingering bitterness, despite the mudslinging of the last election. Stamper went back to his ministry and Remy returned to his executive duties.

But for Rudell and Lazzaretto, life after Burbank City Hall was considerably rougher.

Rudell said he was out of work for five months. “There was a long period of reorientation and readjustment as a consequence of my forced resignation,” Rudell said with a slight, mirthless chuckle. “I accepted the reality of my situation. Under the city charter, the city manager and city attorney serve at the pleasure of the City Council, and if that composition changes, new people are often desired.

“It just took me longer than I had anticipated to get relocated.”

Lazzaretto’s political exile was even more painful, mainly because it was the second forced ouster in his career. He resigned from the city manager position in Alhambra in January, 1983, after being criticized by City Council members for his methods in pushing redevelopment. The council particularly objected to his use of eminent domain, the city’s power to take over private property, to make way for a $40-million downtown shopping mall.

“Having this happen twice did not help my career,” Lazzaretto said, quietly and slowly. “Whatever the circumstances, it’s there. You can explain it if people listen, but it’s still there.”

Difficult Transition

But he said his removal as city manager in Burbank was more difficult. “In this case, there wasn’t another city to compete for. I was competing for the job in Burbank when I left Alhambra,” he said.

After he left Burbank, Lazzaretto applied for positions in other cities around Southern California. “The people who dealt with me in those cities were fair. If they took the time to listen, they accepted what happened for what it was. It’s well established that council can change management.”

The change placed more stress on Lazzaretto’s family life than on his career. “There was an effort involved with my family, especially my wife, in deciding what we were going to do,” he said, his voice growing softer. “But we’ve adjusted and are very happy. We’ve all adjusted. Every day is a learning experience, and we are surviving.

“Right now, I just want to succeed and be the best and most competent consultant I can be. My wife and I are personally committed to getting our four children through school, and giving them a good, healthy life.”

Lazzaretto added: “I’m not a bitter person who dwells in the past or curses the gods for his fate. But there are a lot of things which were said and continue to be said about the way things were run when we were in office. To say that we totally disregarded the consequences of our actions is not accurate.”

No Plan for City Future

Lazzaretto said his office made significant progress in improving the city, and was responsive to the needs of citizens. He acknowledged, however, that he and the council did not form a specific plan for the city’s future. “We discussed it, but conclusions were never arrived at,” he said.

Of Howard’s continued attacks against the previous administration, Lazzaretto said, “I’m not walking up and down in front of city hall and accusing them of malfeasance in office.

“I just wish they would let us get on with the rest of our lives. We’re not interfering with them,” he said. “It’s easy to deal with absolutes, but things are not that black and white.”