Burbank Candidate Finds It Difficult to Get Off Bandwagon

Marilyn Huston Paggi said she wanted to be “out.” But she wound up “in.”

And John B. Rasche, who wanted to be “in,” is “out.”

Confused?

So were Burbank city officials when they saw the results of the city’s school board race in Tuesday’s primary election.

The unofficial vote showed that Paggi, 37, who announced about 12 days ago that she was withdrawing from the race, finished fifth out of eight candidates running for three vacancies on the board. She received 2,606 votes.

The showing of Paggi, who listed herself on the ballot simply as “parent,” qualified her for an April 14 runoff with five other candidates. Rasche, an attorney who had actively campaigned for a board seat, finished seventh and was knocked out of the runoff.

Surprised by Vote

Paggi, who said she left the race for personal and health reasons, was stunned by the 2,606 votes she received. She did not appear at any of the school board candidate forums and did not campaign.

“I’m just real surprised,” Paggi said. “I didn’t withdraw because I didn’t think I could win. I had very good reasons. But I didn’t actively seek any votes.”

Rasche could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Paggi, the mother of a 6-year-old boy, would have had to have notified the city clerk’s office at least 68 days before the election for her name to have been removed from the primary ballot, officials said.

Competing against Paggi in the April runoff will be board incumbent William S. Abbey, 41; Tomme J. Lenz, 54, a community volunteer; Walton L. Ragan, 61, a school principal; Charles A. Goldwasser, 36, an attorney, and Dwain F. Bender, 45, a management executive.

Besides Rasche, Cortland W. Blind, a data processing supervisor, was knocked out of the running.

The three top vote-getters in the runoff will win the three seats.

Paggi had difficulty explaining why she received so many votes.

No Explanation

“It’s a real mystery to me,” she said Wednesday. “Maybe it’s because my family name is well-known in Burbank. Or people saw that I was a mother and they felt they needed that balance on the board. Or they liked the fact that mine was the only real feminine name on the ballot. I really don’t know. I feel embarrassed.”

Lenz, who finished second in the race, was the only other woman on the ballot.

Even though she qualified for the runoff, Paggi has no second thoughts of staying in the race. “I want to see if I can do anything to get off the ballot,” she said. “There are other candidates I support that I would like to see on the board.”

City Atty. Douglas C. Holland said her name will remain on the ballot.

“Mrs. Paggi is a candidate, whether she wants to be or not,” Holland said. “She doesn’t have to run, but I don’t see how I can keep her name off the ballot. In the strict and legal sense, she is a candidate for the school board. It’s up to her to get the word out that she isn’t running.”

Paggi said that, if her name is not removed, she will write a statement for sample ballots asking voters not to vote for her.

“I don’t know how to take this,” she said. “I’m not a political person.”