Be wary of airport ‘sheep’

Regarding the March 1 article on the meeting of local officials with

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Marion Blakey, it looks

like the Burbank City Council has once again taken the wrong

direction regarding airport expansion. The information in the article

was clear that Blakey has zero interest in working with Burbank to

tie in a curfew with a new terminal. At this point, I don’t know what

part of “no” the council does not understand. But “no” is unlikely to

stop Councilman Dave Golonski in his incessant pursuit of foisting a

huge new terminal on Burbank residents.

Golonski talks neighborhood protections, but his actions speak

louder than his words. Consider these facts about him:

* He was the author of the failed “Framework for Settlement” of

1999, in which the airport would have been allowed to build a 19-gate

terminal that would have had more than four times as much usable

passenger space as the existing terminal.

* He led the sneak attack on Measure A on election evening before

the votes were even counted.

* Just as he has ignored the will of the electorate on Measure A

to limit airport growth, he is ignoring the lessons of the Plan

Evaluation Review Committee that clearly called for growth

restrictions. It is pathetic that the PERC members, all of whom were

appointed by the council, labored an entire summer and came up with

some innovative ideas only to have their recommendations given the

short shrift by the same council that appointed them.

The underlying problem in the airport expansion issue is Golonski

and the other council members who, with the occasional exception of

Stacey Murphy, follow him like sheep. Exactly what motivates Golonski

to allow the airport to build a huge new terminal, I don’t know. But

I do know this: he won’t give up until he accomplishes this.

Even though we do not have a mandatory curfew on nighttime

flights, we do at least have some protection from the number of

flights by maintaining the status quo of the old terminal. What can

be done to ensure that we at least maintain this protection?

The same clique that supports Golonski supports Jef Vander Borght

and Gary Bric. Having them on the council will give Golonski more

sheep he can count on to twist every issue into a mandate for airport

expansion. Can these two be beaten in the general election for

council? I think so. To me, Todd Campbell of the Clean Air Coalition

is more likely to remain independent than are the other candidates. I

hope Burbank voters will consider voting for him.

RON VANDERFORD

Burbank