Burbank Councilwoman Sets Record : Howard Spends $40,709 on Reelection

Burbank Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard established a new city record for campaign spending in her February bid for reelection to the council, according to city documents.

Howard spent $40,709 during her campaign, or $7.16 for each of the 5,684 votes she received, records on file in the city clerk’s office show. Those figures broke the records Howard set in 1983 for total spending and spending per vote.

Incumbent Robert Bowne, who was also reelected in the primary, spent $22,250 for 5,591 votes, or $3.98 a vote.

Most statewide elections cost less than $1 a vote, said a spokesman for the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. The most expensive state Senate campaigns average about $10 a vote, and the most expensive Assembly races run about $15 per vote.

After the campaign, Howard said she was disappointed at the small turnout in the election for two council seats. Fewer than one-fourth of the 44,782 registered voters in the city went to the polls in the primary.

Because Howard and Bowne each received more than 50% of the vote in defeating their six challengers, they did not have to run in the general election.

Howard and Bowne could not be reached Friday for comment.

Michael McDonald, a Los Angeles Rams football player who also ran for the council, received 2,808 votes and spent $4,225, or $1.50 a vote. He has said he will try to raise more money if he runs again.

Edwin LaRocque, a computer clerk who placed last in the eight-person race, spent $1,156, but attracted only 712 votes, spending $1.62 a vote, the records showed.

The four other candidates--Margie A. Gee, Marji Brannan, Lud Grande and Jules Kimmett--all spent less than $500 and were not required by campaign laws to report their expenditures.

Howard held the previous record for campaign spending, $19,780, or $3.14 for each of the 6,308 votes she received in 1983.