Gordon ekes out victory

CITY HALL — Newcomer Jess Talamantes, buttressed by key endorsements from eight former mayors, joined incumbents Dave Golonski and David Gordon on Tuesday as the winners of three seats on the Burbank City Council.

Gordon survived a see-saw battle with 28-year-old Kimberly Jo, coming out about 200 votes ahead of her in the end.

A fifth term for Mayor Golonski and second term for Gordon were at stake in Tuesday’s election.

With all 42 precincts reporting and 11,852 votes counted, Golonski finished ahead of Talamantes with 5,698 votes. Talamantes secured 5,353 votes and Gordon had 5,235 votes. The top three vote-getters finished with 48%, 45% and 44% of the vote, respectively.

“I had my back to the numbers until the end,” said Talamantes, 57. “It was exciting — really exciting.”

A retired fire captain who spent 32 years in the department, Talamantes has pledged to retain the city’s workforce, preserve and improve crumbling infrastructure and maintain fiscal stability. He plans to begin by organizing financial forums and enhancing ties with the Chamber of Commerce, exploring renovations of swimming pools at Verdugo and McCambridge parks and asking city departments to weigh 10% budget cuts to tackle the looming deficit.

“We have to address the economic problems,” said Talamantes, who secured endorsements from Vice Mayor Gary Bric, outgoing Councilwoman Marsha Ramos, retired Fire Chief Michael Davis and the Burbank City Employees Assn. “I think the community recognized that I will be able to hit the ground running on the first day.”

Results for the bottom three candidates closely mirrored those of the primary, with Jo, Elise Stearns-Niesen and Garen Yegparian rounding out the field. Jo finished in fourth with 5,031 votes, or 42% of the vote, Stearns-Niesen followed with 3,838, or 32% and Yegparian trailed with 3,126, or 26%.

Jo, who led Gordon by more than 100 votes with just seven precincts left to be counted, mounted an exciting campaign that she peppered with lively fundraisers and public forums on business development, green building and alternative energy.

Standing in her campaign headquarters on West Olive Avenue after the race, Jo looked back on more than six months of campaigning.