Council set to reorganize

BURBANK — Council members-elect Gary Bric and Anja Reinke will be sworn in at the council's reorganization session Tuesday, followed by the election of a new mayor to succeed outgoing Mayor Todd Campbell.

Councilman Dave Golonski, a two-time Burbank mayor and a 14-year council veteran, expects an orderly transition as the two new members join the council.

"They will have a lot of information to absorb, but both of them have been pretty active around the city and pretty up on what's going on," he said. "So I don't see any big issues with the transition. But it always is a big learning curve for anybody. I'm looking forward to the goal-setting session and some new ideas and working with some new council members."

Bric, who finished just 15 votes ahead of Reinke in the general election, attended his first closed session and the public council study session last Tuesday as a way to begin his transition into council business. He also sought some insights from outgoing Councilman Jef Vander Borght, who served on the council for five years.

"I'm just trying to get into it slowly," he said. "I talked to a number of people about several things and what to expect."

Bric will leave his post on the Traffic and Transportation Board to join the council, but has plans to bring with him to the council some of the things he picked up while serving on the board.

"One of the things I'm going to be looking at obviously is traffic and everything we've being doing through the Traffic and Transportation [Committee] — no question about it," he said. "That's going to be one of my key things."

Reinke, an attorney, said her legal background and trial experience will serve her well on the council, having to be prepared for any issue that comes at her.

"I think council is the same thing," she said. "You go in with an open mind, ready to receive what you're going to receive. And you go with the flow and that's what I plan on doing."

The annual reorganization session also means the naming of a new mayor and vice mayor.

As senior members of council, Golonski and six-year council veteran Marsha Ramos are in line for the posts. Both have served as mayor. Ramos just finished her second term as vice mayor and served as mayor between 2004 and 2005.