CANDIDATE PROFILE KIMBERLY JO:

In a race crammed with new faces, Kimberly Jo is as new as they come.

“Elders in the community share that they’ve never seen a newcomer do this well,” Jo said. “But it’s funny because the people who know me sit back, laugh and say, ‘Well, newcomer, but you’ve only lived here your whole life.’”

Still, some have questioned whether the Burbank High School graduate who went on to complete her undergraduate work in public policy with minor in urban planning at UCLA and a master’s degree in public administration from USC, is perhaps too green.

“Everything I have ever worked on has led me to this point in my life,” she said. “I’ve laid that foundation in my academic training and my professional career. In terms of really delving deeply into issues, I can pretty much go up and down, left to right and give you the full picture and concept.

“I think having that type of full perspective is something that you don’t get from going the typical route of council, which is serving on commissions, serving on a board and then serving on council. Absolutely, that gives you a handle on government, but I’m in this day in and day out.”

The daughter of South Korean immigrants and the founders of Rocky’s Fish and Poultry in Burbank, Jo has worked as an associate chief information officer for the county of Los Angeles, strategic planner for the county’s chief executive and consultant on planning, traffic and economic development throughout the San Fernando Valley.

She intersperses her views on traffic, homelessness and the economy with examples from her travels to Africa, Brazil and Thailand. They all have a common theme: to properly address any of the issues facing Burbank, one must properly frame them. For homelessness, municipalities must survey the population and then take an inventory of available services. For traffic, look regionally. Look at industry. Define the obstacles.

When it comes to the economy, however, her approach is more direct.

“From day one, I’ve been very clear that we are going to be working on job creation and reaching out and figuring out how we’re going to strengthen our economic and tax base,” she said. “Because creating those revenues is the only thing that’s going to provide that support to complement the curtailments that are already happening.”

While Burbank cannot remain isolated from the global fiscal crisis, it is up to the community, not just members of local government, to arrive at common-sense solutions that can be applied to the city, Jo said.

“She’s passionate about engaging the community, bringing people together and arriving at a fresh perspective,” Councilwoman Marsha Ramos said.

Ramos, who met with the candidate last summer and encouraged her to run, added that Jo understands the plight of small business owners and the pains they may be experiencing.

“She was born for this,” Ramos said. “It’s who she is.”

BIO BOX

NAME: Kimberly Jo

AGE: 28

FAMILY: Single; no children.

OCCUPATION: Associate chief information officer for the county of Los Angeles.

EDUCATION: University of California, Los Angeles, 2003. M.A., University of Southern California, 2007.