BURBANK : Last Ballots Tallied in School Board Race

With more than 30 ballots still left to tally and verify in Burbank’s primary election, one of two candidates qualifying for the last open seat on the Burbank school board is not expected to be named until Friday, City Clerk Marge Lauerman said.

The delay stems from the need to verify signatures on 27 absentee ballots and to determine whether an unspecified number of other questionable ballots are valid, Lauerman said Wednesday.

Those results will be used to decide whether incumbent William Abbey or Malcolm Kelman, a security systems salesman, will face David Nos in an April 11 runoff.

According to the latest results reported Tuesday night, Abbey--with 2,577 votes--was ahead of Kelman by only 10 votes.

“It could go either way,” Lauerman said. “It’s very close.”

Two school board candidates won office outright: Mike McDonald, a former professional football player and real estate agent, and incumbent Elena Hubbell, who is also a real estate agent.

“I’m excited we won,” said McDonald, who was the Los Angeles Rams’ center for eight years. “I have the greatest sense of responsibility on my shoulders, but we won.”

Hubbell said she felt vindicated in light of strong criticism about the school board’s ability to rebuild and renovate aging facilities.

“I think, for the most part, they (voters) were saying they trust the board--or at least they trust me--and are willing to give me four more years to work on these issues.”

Ranked third among vote-getters was Nos, a small-business owner and past president of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, who received 4,094 votes and automatically qualified to compete in next month’s runoff.