Mayor Golonski led all candidates, with 4,858 votes, while Gordon had 4,537 and Talamantes had 3,951.
Kimberly Jo had the fourth-highest vote total, with 2,471, followed by Elise Stearns-Niesen’s 2,019 and Garen Yegparian’s 1,989. Lee Dunayer was the seventh-highest vote recipient of the 13 council candidates on the primary ballot, with 1,740, but will not be included in the run-off election.
It appeared that Golonski, who is completing his 16th year on the council and is pursuing an unprecedented fifth term, was able to become the top vote recipient based on his experience and track record, he said.
Talamantes, who served the Burbank Fire Department for 32 years, including 23 as a captain, had garnered the endorsements from four major labor unions with a message of focusing on economic recovery and business creation in the city.
That message appeared to have won favor with enough voters to put Talamantes on the general election ballot, he said.
“My campaign’s looking forward to the next six weeks, and we’re going to work hard to come out on top for the general election,” he said.
Burbank Unified School District Board of Education incumbents Larry Applebaum and Debbie Kutka handily defeated lone challenger Gregory Bragg and will not be required to run in the general election.
Both incumbents led Bragg by more than 2,000, with Kutka receiving 6,120 and Applebaum getting 5,929.
The 2008 presidential primary election, the last primary held in Burbank, drew about 13% of voters, compared with Tuesday’s final total of about 20%, according to figures from the city clerk’s office.
Voters were able to drop off ballots at five locations for the primary election, including City Hall, the Buena Vista Library, McCambridge Park, Jocelyn Adult Center and Tuttle Adult Center, City Clerk Margarita Campos said.
