Barbed Ritual : At Burbank Council Ceremony, More Than Titles Are Traded

It was supposed to be a simple changing of the guard Monday for the city of Burbank. But it turned out to be an exchanging of the barbs.

The City Council’s changeover ceremony, where Al F. Dossin was chosen as Burbank’s new mayor and Robert R. Bowne as its vice mayor, was marred by snippy and antagonistic remarks that seem to indicate a more turbulent time is ahead for the five-member panel.

Three members voted for Dossin, who once proclaimed himself the maverick of the council. Dossin, 59, an independent insurance salesman and three-year council member, has been criticized by colleagues for being uncooperative and unwilling to participate in local events.

Councilwoman Mary E. Kelsey, who voted against Dossin, said it was a mistake to appoint him. During the ceremony, she nominated Bowne, a 3 1/2-year council veteran, for the mayor’s seat. Bowne also voted against Dossin and for himself.

The final shot of the ceremony was fired by Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard. It came after Dossin and Bowne’s appointments.

“I’m sorry this morning didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped,” Howard said to those assembled. “In fact, the last I had heard, Mrs. Kelsey was going to nominate herself as mayor. But I’m glad that didn’t occur.”

Kelsey bristled and mumbled into the microphone, “Great!” She later called Howard’s remarks sarcastic, but would not comment further.

Dossin succeeds Michael R. Hastings, who will remain as a councilman.

The ceremony has been an annual carnival of insults and hurt feelings for several years. It has become a forum for opponents to take swipes at each other without city issues getting in the way.

In previous years, Bowne was passed over three times for mayor and vice mayor even though he has been on the council longer than Kelsey and Hastings--the previous two mayors--or Dossin, vice mayor last year.

When Bowne learned last year that he would be passed over, he boycotted the ceremony, later charging the council with “political cronyism and back-room deal-making.”

Dossin said he would try to ease the tension among council members during the coming year. “Obviously, we have a split council, and I would like to bring us together as a team,” he said.

He said he did not have an agenda of goals for the year. But he said he wanted to settle controversy surrounding the development of a 40-acre site that the Walt Disney Co. recently dropped plans to develop. And he said he hoped to foster settlement of zoning disputes in the city’s residential-equestrian areas, where developers hope to build non-horse-related projects.