On Jan. 30, Iraqis braved insurgent mortar rounds and suicide bombers
to cast ballots at thousands of polling stations. On election day, 33
Iraqis were killed in 260 assaults. But when the dust settled, the
country's first election in 50 years happened because Iraqis risked
their lives for something we sometimes take for granted: the right to
vote.
A couple of weeks later, on Feb. 22, when Burbank voters had a
similar opportunity, only 19.1% of registered voters took part. Voter
turnout in Iraq was 58% despite the threat of death. Of the 54,000
Burbank residents registered to vote, only 10,276 filled out their
ballots and dropped them in the mail or off at one of five sites.
Burbank voters faced a new kind of primary -- an all
mail-in/drop-off ballot primary in which all they had to was mail in
the ballot.
Officials deemed the primary a good first try. And maybe it was.
It certainly was made easy. But it was also a measly turnout in a
growing, thriving city, where commercial and residential development,
traffic and transportation, airport issues, the quality of schools
and the entertainment industry are so much a part of the city's
business and political life.
On Tuesday, Burbank voters will have another chance to cast a
ballot, this time in a runoff election that pits two City Council
challengers against two incumbents, and that has four newcomers vying
for two open seats on the school board.
We hope the general election prompts more interest among the 80%
who didn't cast ballots in the primary. Essentially, in the case of
the City Council, it's a choice between the status quo, change or a
mix of the two as challengers Vahe Hovanessian and Michael Bergfeld
try to unseat Dave Golonski and Marsha Ramos. For school board, Larry
Applebaum, Nikki Capshaw, Debbie Kukta and Susan Bowers want two open
seats. All would serve the city for the next four years. Voting gives
us a stake in those four years.
In a sense, it's a blessing to have only these eight to deal with.
Consider neighboring Glendale, where voters faced a ballot this
week of 43 candidates vying for everything from City Council and
school board to community college trustees and city clerk. They also
had 21 City Charter amendments to vote on. And they didn't even have
a primary election to whittle it all down.
There is even early drop-in voting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at
City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave.; the Joslyn Center, 1301 W. Olive Ave.; McCambridge Park, 1515 N. Glenoaks Blvd.; Buena Vista Library, 300 N.
Buena Vista St.; and the Tuttle Center, 1731 N. Ontario St.
That's not to say you have to vote today. Those same drop-off
centers will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
So, to the candidates, we say best wishes on Tuesday. To the
voters, a reminder that it's your wishes that will count.
