Burbank City Councilman David Gordon takes on lobbying role

Burbank City Councilman David Gordon has been named to the National League of Cities 2016 Community and Economic Development Committee, giving him the opportunity to help influence federal policy on behalf of communities throughout the country.

The appointment was announced this week by Melodee Colbert-Kean, the league’s president and a councilwoman from Joplin, Mo.

“It’s a pretty significant thing,” Gordon said. “It gives us a direct voice in Washington.”

The National League of Cities is the lobby for 19,000 cities, towns and villages in the United States. The Community and Economic Development Committee drafts the league’s policy positions related to housing, community and economic development, land use, recreation and parks, historic preservation and international competitiveness.

“I basically don’t know what it doesn’t do, but it does a lot of things,” Gordon said.

Members from communities across the country serve a one-year term and are eligible for reappointment annually, according to the league of cities’ website.

Gordon said the new post will require a few trips to the nation’s capital. News of the appointment comes after Gordon traveled to the annual National League of Cities Congress of Cities and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn., last month.

The small businessman has an optometry practice in Burbank and has served on the council since 2006. He has also served on several boards and committees in the city, including a four-year stint on the Planning Board in the late 1990s, but this is his first appointment to a National League of Cities committee.

This year’s Community and Economic Development Committee is chaired by Craig Thurmond, mayor of Broken Arrow, Okla. Vice chairs are Gerri Schroder, a councilwoman from Henderson, Nev., and Gyna Bivens, a councilwoman from Fort Worth, Texas.

The group meets several times a year to develop policy positions, which are then considered at the league’s annual congress, usually held in the fall, and incorporated into its national-policy activities for the following year.

For example, this year the group decided to call on Congress to fully fund the Community Development Block Grant program, which provides federal dollars to meet local needs in affordable housing, access to community facilities and programs as well as economic development and infrastructure.

For years, requests for block grants have exceeded available funds, and recent federal budgets have decreased funding for the grant program nationwide. Earlier this year, the Burbank City Council received $950,000 in block-grant funding and roughly $1.6 million in requests.

City Council deliberations on how to allocate the grants were so lengthy that City Manager Mark Scott kicked in $4,500 of his own salary to benefit local programs and help move the meeting along.

Gordon said he plans to network and partner with committee members from other cities to identify “best practices” and other ideas to benefit the city.

“I look forward to working closely with the committee to bring the latest ideas and opportunities to Burbank for the benefit of all those living and working in our city and our region,” he said.

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Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland