BURBANK : Abbey Makes Runoff With Narrow Win

Burbank school board member William Abbey has qualified to compete in an April 11 runoff for his seat after beating another candidate by only eight votes, city officials announced Friday.

The narrow victory margin surprised Abbey, who said he thought he could have finished stronger against Malcolm Kelman, a security systems salesman who picked up 2,582 votes.

“I thought I had performed much better (on the school board) and provided better answers in the candidates’ forums,” he said. “I think I must have underestimated the anti-incumbent mood of the voters today.”

The city clerk’s office did not announce the final results of Tuesday’s primary election in Burbank until Friday because numerous ballots needed to be verified.

In the election, incumbent Elena Hubbell and real estate agent Mike McDonald automatically won seats on the Burbank Unified School District board by carrying more than 50% of the vote.

Third-place finisher David Nos qualified to compete in next month’s runoff, but it was unclear until Friday who he would face because of the close race between Abbey and Kelman.