Primary for City Council Seats Thins Field to 4

Burbank voters were unable to reach a consensus among the 10 candidates vying for two open seats on the City Council, so the top four vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary election will face each other in the April 8 general election.

Incumbent Councilman Jef Vander Borght, who was appointed 10 months ago to fill a partial term, narrowly missed being elected to a full, four-year term with 4,907 votes, or 48.8% of the votes cast, according to the city clerk.

Candidates needed more than 50% of the vote 10,042 votes in the primary election to win outright.

Gary Bric, a restaurant owner, was second with 2,886 votes, followed by Todd Campbell, a public policy director for an environmental organization, with 2,481, and Brian Malone, a real estate agent, with 2,118.

Candidates who fell short of reaching the general election were Kisa Kirkpatrick, with 1,118 votes; Michael Bergfeld, with 1,114; Vahe Hovanessian, with 1,094; Michael Porco, with 647; Esther Espinoza, with 551; and Lee Dunayer, with 526.

In the race for the Burbank Unified School District’s Board of Education, a dozen candidates sought three open seats. Two of three incumbents were soundly defeated while the third incumbent held on to advance to the general election.

David Kemp, a retired teacher, won a seat on the board outright with 5,388 votes, or 54.6% of the vote.

Four candidates will compete for the two remaining open seats: Paul Krekorian, a lawyer, with 3,866 votes; Larry Applebaum, a small-business owner, with 2,978 votes; Ted Bunch, a retired teacher, with 2,886 votes; and incumbent Mike McDonald, a businessman, with 1,839 votes.

Board President Richard Raad, who was seeking a second term, and three-term incumbent Elena Hubbell were eliminated. Hubbell attributed the incumbents’ poor showing to the board’s decision a year ago to remove a school superintendent, a move that was highly criticized by many residents.

Additionally, voters passed a $14-million bond measure for a new central library and gave preliminary approval to a vote-by-mail system. Voter turnout for the primary election was light, according to the city clerk’s office said. Less than 20% of the city’s 50,340 registered voters cast ballots.