Important Issues
• Housing
I am a proponent of increasing housing supply, affordable housing, and funding of both public and public-private partnerships to create affordable housing units. I also support workforce housing efforts which ensures those who play critical roles in serving our community can live in the community close to where they work. Teachers, public safety personnel, and nurses, as just a few examples of people who should be able to live in the communities where they work to better serve our communities. It is also important that our young adults have access to housing in our community.
It's time that we need to look outside the box, and come up with innovative solutions.
I will work to:
Find ways to create more affordable housing for low and middle income families and seniors on fixed incomes, as well as workforce housing for people who work in jobs critical to the well-being of our community.
Increase our public-private partnerships so we can bring more units online for low-income households.
Reduce barriers to “gentle density” in our city. (ADUs, duplexes, small mixed use buildings, single story community quadplexes).
Support residents who live on their property to expand housing availability on their individual lots.
Include robust community input on how to add housing to our city while maintaining its unique character.
Crack down on unscrupulous landlords who take advantage of tenants.
Make sure that renters and landlords have the resources they need to protect their interests.
Fight to make sure Sacramento and Washington are listening to our residents’ needs, especially as we recover from COVID.
Increase remote working incentives, to reduce the number of commuters into the city, which will decrease the demand for housing.
Make sure that housing growth is spread evenly around the city, and near transportation centers, to avoid traffic bubbles and undue strain on local infrastructure.
Expand the landlord-tenant commission to 7 members, and increase their outreach and availability to be able to address the expected increase in COVID related questions.
Push to make the VIA point-to-point service permanent, to make it easier to get around in the city, and less of a need to use a car. Which in turn, will allow infill housing to be built with less restrictive parking requirements.
Ensure that seniors’ and young adults’ unique needs are considered when making housing plans.
Is housing important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
I am a proponent of increasing housing supply, affordable housing, and funding of both public and public-private partnerships to create affordable housing units. I also support workforce housing efforts which ensures those who play critical roles in serving our community can live in the community close to where they work. Teachers, public safety personnel, and nurses, as just a few examples of people who should be able to live in the communities where they work to better serve our communities. It is also important that our young adults have access to housing in our community.
It's time that we need to look outside the box, and come up with innovative solutions.
I will work to:
Find ways to create more affordable housing for low and middle income families and seniors on fixed incomes, as well as workforce housing for people who work in jobs critical to the well-being of our community.
Increase our public-private partnerships so we can bring more units online for low-income households.
Reduce barriers to “gentle density” in our city. (ADUs, duplexes, small mixed use buildings, single story community quadplexes).
Support residents who live on their property to expand housing availability on their individual lots.
Include robust community input on how to add housing to our city while maintaining its unique character.
Crack down on unscrupulous landlords who take advantage of tenants.
Make sure that renters and landlords have the resources they need to protect their interests.
Fight to make sure Sacramento and Washington are listening to our residents’ needs, especially as we recover from COVID.
Increase remote working incentives, to reduce the number of commuters into the city, which will decrease the demand for housing.
Make sure that housing growth is spread evenly around the city, and near transportation centers, to avoid traffic bubbles and undue strain on local infrastructure.
Expand the landlord-tenant commission to 7 members, and increase their outreach and availability to be able to address the expected increase in COVID related questions.
Push to make the VIA point-to-point service permanent, to make it easier to get around in the city, and less of a need to use a car. Which in turn, will allow infill housing to be built with less restrictive parking requirements.
Ensure that seniors’ and young adults’ unique needs are considered when making housing plans.
Is housing important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
• Environment and Sustainability
Our children’s future depends on how we address climate change now. With Burbank’s many environmentally impactful operations -“ water and power, trash, recycling, and landfilling - we are uniquely positioned to become part of the climate change solution, and become a model environmentally friendly city.
But it requires the will and dedication to environmentally responsible decisions. Moving away from harmful fossil fuel-based resources, reducing our unsustainable amounts of waste, and preserving our limited water supply must be top priorities. I fully support the work of our Sustainability Commission, and commit to partnering with them to focus on the most important environmental issues in our city.
Electricity: Burbank currently has 32% renewable energy sources with a goal of 60% by 2030. I believe that we can work to go beyond that, and pull out all the stops to seeing what it would take to get zero-carbon by 2030 without disrupting supplies or causing a spike in rates.
Reducing greenhouse gases: Clean energy is the most direct method for reducing our greenhouse gasses, and is a more fiscally sound long term investment for our city. It is essential that we reduce wasted energy and move away from gas towards clean electric.
Increased incentives and opportunities for reducing carbon footprint: Locally, I am advocating for the city providing more options for residents and businesses to easily convert to energy conservation as well as switching to clean energy. For example, financial incentives to use energy at peak production times, advocating for better demand management using smart meters that automatically adjust electric usage, incentives for residents and commercial to convert to convert to all electric as we move to cleaner energy, and a more aggressive outreach program to increase participation in these programs.
I will also push toward all-electric municipal fleets, such as trash trucks and street cleaners, and toward improving our infrastructure to support the growing use of electric cars. With the new state mandate for all new vehicles to no longer use gas by 2035, it makes sense for our city to make a commitment now to move towards electric fleets.
We also are in a strong position to incentivize electrifying buildings. It’s time to join Los Angeles and other cities to change building codes to require new construction to include only electric, to avoid long term costs of replacing systems later when gas is being phased out.
Solar energy: I am advocating integrating solar and battery storage in our residential and commercial energy output, as well as city investment in clean battery storage. Solar energy storage is one of the the best ways to prepare for variations in energy consumption during hot weather as we convert to clean energy sources.
Water: We have a reliable, clean, and safe water supply in Burbank, so our main work is conservation. I will work to increase the available incentives to households and businesses who adopt drought-tolerant yards. I will also push for our city to be one of the first adopters of the new Advanced Purification Program, so we can significantly increase recycled water.
Waste: We need to cut down the amount of waste that goes into our landfill. Zero-waste is a lofty goal, but one that we, as a city, must strive to achieve. Organic material that we throw away, in particular, generates methane, which contributes to climate change. Our city has a successful composting program that I support and would seek to expand. We also need to partner with our businesses and residents to find ways to reduce the amount of food that is disposed, through a food waste and surplus edible food collection programs. I support a ban on polystyrene (expanded polystyrene_EPS, also referred to as styrofoam). I would support a program that partners with local municipalities for collective purchasing, for businesses to have access to an affordable way to ensure takeout food packaging is recyclable or compostable. Another underused program the can benefit our community and do our part to reduce waste is AB 619, where consumers may provide their own reusable beverage and food containers for takeout orders.
Fires: It is absolutely clear by our recent year of extreme fire and weather, that we can no longer wait to address our increasingly destructive climate change. This is not a political issues - this is our current reality now. Leaders now are responsible to create a healer and safer environment for our current residents, and for our children and our children’s children. And we must also be cognizant of how climate and environmental choices affect low income and minority neighborhoods in different ways.
Airport: I will work to partner with the airport in their efforts to develop environmentally friendly policies and practices. I fully support the Sustainability Commission’s work in this regard.
Is the environment and sustainability important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
Our children’s future depends on how we address climate change now. With Burbank’s many environmentally impactful operations -“ water and power, trash, recycling, and landfilling - we are uniquely positioned to become part of the climate change solution, and become a model environmentally friendly city.
But it requires the will and dedication to environmentally responsible decisions. Moving away from harmful fossil fuel-based resources, reducing our unsustainable amounts of waste, and preserving our limited water supply must be top priorities. I fully support the work of our Sustainability Commission, and commit to partnering with them to focus on the most important environmental issues in our city.
Electricity: Burbank currently has 32% renewable energy sources with a goal of 60% by 2030. I believe that we can work to go beyond that, and pull out all the stops to seeing what it would take to get zero-carbon by 2030 without disrupting supplies or causing a spike in rates.
Reducing greenhouse gases: Clean energy is the most direct method for reducing our greenhouse gasses, and is a more fiscally sound long term investment for our city. It is essential that we reduce wasted energy and move away from gas towards clean electric.
Increased incentives and opportunities for reducing carbon footprint: Locally, I am advocating for the city providing more options for residents and businesses to easily convert to energy conservation as well as switching to clean energy. For example, financial incentives to use energy at peak production times, advocating for better demand management using smart meters that automatically adjust electric usage, incentives for residents and commercial to convert to convert to all electric as we move to cleaner energy, and a more aggressive outreach program to increase participation in these programs.
I will also push toward all-electric municipal fleets, such as trash trucks and street cleaners, and toward improving our infrastructure to support the growing use of electric cars. With the new state mandate for all new vehicles to no longer use gas by 2035, it makes sense for our city to make a commitment now to move towards electric fleets.
We also are in a strong position to incentivize electrifying buildings. It’s time to join Los Angeles and other cities to change building codes to require new construction to include only electric, to avoid long term costs of replacing systems later when gas is being phased out.
Solar energy: I am advocating integrating solar and battery storage in our residential and commercial energy output, as well as city investment in clean battery storage. Solar energy storage is one of the the best ways to prepare for variations in energy consumption during hot weather as we convert to clean energy sources.
Water: We have a reliable, clean, and safe water supply in Burbank, so our main work is conservation. I will work to increase the available incentives to households and businesses who adopt drought-tolerant yards. I will also push for our city to be one of the first adopters of the new Advanced Purification Program, so we can significantly increase recycled water.
Waste: We need to cut down the amount of waste that goes into our landfill. Zero-waste is a lofty goal, but one that we, as a city, must strive to achieve. Organic material that we throw away, in particular, generates methane, which contributes to climate change. Our city has a successful composting program that I support and would seek to expand. We also need to partner with our businesses and residents to find ways to reduce the amount of food that is disposed, through a food waste and surplus edible food collection programs. I support a ban on polystyrene (expanded polystyrene_EPS, also referred to as styrofoam). I would support a program that partners with local municipalities for collective purchasing, for businesses to have access to an affordable way to ensure takeout food packaging is recyclable or compostable. Another underused program the can benefit our community and do our part to reduce waste is AB 619, where consumers may provide their own reusable beverage and food containers for takeout orders.
Fires: It is absolutely clear by our recent year of extreme fire and weather, that we can no longer wait to address our increasingly destructive climate change. This is not a political issues - this is our current reality now. Leaders now are responsible to create a healer and safer environment for our current residents, and for our children and our children’s children. And we must also be cognizant of how climate and environmental choices affect low income and minority neighborhoods in different ways.
Airport: I will work to partner with the airport in their efforts to develop environmentally friendly policies and practices. I fully support the Sustainability Commission’s work in this regard.
Is the environment and sustainability important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
• Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
Black lives matter.
I am currently serving on the Burbank Unified School District Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. This committee is doing amazing ground work to create a policy against racism, and an anti-racist cultural shift. I believe this work can be brought into our general community moving forward, in partnership with the city.
I am advocating to create an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (DEI) City Commission or coalition. This group would have the responsibility to work with city staff to review practices and policies, and identify where we can better serve our entire community to reduce institutional racism and inequity, to ensure that everyone feels safe and welcome, and has equal access to services. This commission would work in partnership with other commissions, especially those for departments such as police, parks and recreation, water and power, and civil service, and would serve as an advisory board to the council.
Days of Dialogue: While the Burbank Police Department has done excellent work to be ahead of the curve with the President's Task Force on Community Policing, now is the opportunity to take the next step. The next step is not massive reform or defunding our police, but rather a deeper commitment to our community, focused on protection, safety, and relationship building while recognizing areas for improvement. This is why I am advocating for Days of Dialogue - a program where BPD and the city can partner with the Burbank Human Relations Council, Burbank Unified School District, and other organizations to have fruitful conversations in the community that bring us together as we tackle our city's issues.
Diversity: Our city has a rich medley of culture that deserves to be recognized and celebrated. I will work to find ways that we can bring us all together to share our histories, our cultures, and our experiences. It is also imperative that we work to create more diversity on our city commissions to truly reflect our community. I will also work to find a way to create a multicultural center with intentional space for cultural events and cross cultural experiences.
Inclusion: One of the side effects of bias is to exclude by passivity. I will work to actively invite our entire community to participate and to make sure that we do everything so that all of our residents feel valued and respected for who they are.
Equity: Equity needs to be a guiding principle in all decisions related to the city. To do this, I will advocate for an equity task force to work with our newly formed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission, to identify where we are providing equitable services and to create goals in areas where we can improve. I will also advocate for an equity coalition within our city staff, as well as partnering with our school district and local organizations such as the Burbank Human Relations Council, for ongoing study and implementation of equity goals.
Ultimately, Burbank must be a city that is welcoming, inclusive and accessible to everyone. Equity is when everyone has access to the opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their well-being, and achieve their full potential, without fear of unfair treatment.
Is Equity, Diversity and Inclusion important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
Black lives matter.
I am currently serving on the Burbank Unified School District Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. This committee is doing amazing ground work to create a policy against racism, and an anti-racist cultural shift. I believe this work can be brought into our general community moving forward, in partnership with the city.
I am advocating to create an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (DEI) City Commission or coalition. This group would have the responsibility to work with city staff to review practices and policies, and identify where we can better serve our entire community to reduce institutional racism and inequity, to ensure that everyone feels safe and welcome, and has equal access to services. This commission would work in partnership with other commissions, especially those for departments such as police, parks and recreation, water and power, and civil service, and would serve as an advisory board to the council.
Days of Dialogue: While the Burbank Police Department has done excellent work to be ahead of the curve with the President's Task Force on Community Policing, now is the opportunity to take the next step. The next step is not massive reform or defunding our police, but rather a deeper commitment to our community, focused on protection, safety, and relationship building while recognizing areas for improvement. This is why I am advocating for Days of Dialogue - a program where BPD and the city can partner with the Burbank Human Relations Council, Burbank Unified School District, and other organizations to have fruitful conversations in the community that bring us together as we tackle our city's issues.
Diversity: Our city has a rich medley of culture that deserves to be recognized and celebrated. I will work to find ways that we can bring us all together to share our histories, our cultures, and our experiences. It is also imperative that we work to create more diversity on our city commissions to truly reflect our community. I will also work to find a way to create a multicultural center with intentional space for cultural events and cross cultural experiences.
Inclusion: One of the side effects of bias is to exclude by passivity. I will work to actively invite our entire community to participate and to make sure that we do everything so that all of our residents feel valued and respected for who they are.
Equity: Equity needs to be a guiding principle in all decisions related to the city. To do this, I will advocate for an equity task force to work with our newly formed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission, to identify where we are providing equitable services and to create goals in areas where we can improve. I will also advocate for an equity coalition within our city staff, as well as partnering with our school district and local organizations such as the Burbank Human Relations Council, for ongoing study and implementation of equity goals.
Ultimately, Burbank must be a city that is welcoming, inclusive and accessible to everyone. Equity is when everyone has access to the opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their well-being, and achieve their full potential, without fear of unfair treatment.
Is Equity, Diversity and Inclusion important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
• Small and Micro Business
Small and microbusinesses are the backbone our of our local economy, supporting our large businesses and serving our local community. On the Magnolia Park Merchants Association, I have worked with the team to make sure that our neighborhood businesses receive support and resources from the city, especially during the difficult time of COVID. But we can do more.
The city has provided some support for small businesses who need help connecting to county and federal resources, but they also would benefit from low-cost advising. I will work to create a small business support structure in our city, to provide much needed guidance as we recover form COVID and beyond. I would also like to see our landlord-tenant commission be available to assist with commercial rent mediation.
Small businesses also face many hurdles in starting and maintaining their business. It will be even harder as we recover from COVID. The city recently enacted online business license renewals, and this is a good first step. We need to streamline business by eliminating the necessary hurdles small businesses currently face when attempting to operate in the city. We also need to find ways to ensure that our businesses who are following the COVID safety rules are rewarded, and deincentivize business who do not comply with county guidelines - both for the safety of our community, and to help small businesses weather through the pandemic.
I also support initiatives to support local residents, women, people of color, and first time business owners to create a welcoming community for these entrepreneurs to thrive.
Now more than ever, it’s clear that we need more economic diversity in our city. While entertainment is what Burbank is known for, our dependence on one industry can potentially put us at risk. I will work to diversify our economic portfolio, to expand into other future focused industries such as R&D and health technology.
Are small businesses important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
Small and microbusinesses are the backbone our of our local economy, supporting our large businesses and serving our local community. On the Magnolia Park Merchants Association, I have worked with the team to make sure that our neighborhood businesses receive support and resources from the city, especially during the difficult time of COVID. But we can do more.
The city has provided some support for small businesses who need help connecting to county and federal resources, but they also would benefit from low-cost advising. I will work to create a small business support structure in our city, to provide much needed guidance as we recover form COVID and beyond. I would also like to see our landlord-tenant commission be available to assist with commercial rent mediation.
Small businesses also face many hurdles in starting and maintaining their business. It will be even harder as we recover from COVID. The city recently enacted online business license renewals, and this is a good first step. We need to streamline business by eliminating the necessary hurdles small businesses currently face when attempting to operate in the city. We also need to find ways to ensure that our businesses who are following the COVID safety rules are rewarded, and deincentivize business who do not comply with county guidelines - both for the safety of our community, and to help small businesses weather through the pandemic.
I also support initiatives to support local residents, women, people of color, and first time business owners to create a welcoming community for these entrepreneurs to thrive.
Now more than ever, it’s clear that we need more economic diversity in our city. While entertainment is what Burbank is known for, our dependence on one industry can potentially put us at risk. I will work to diversify our economic portfolio, to expand into other future focused industries such as R&D and health technology.
Are small businesses important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
• Cultural Arts
Burbank is the entertainment capital of the world, and as such, arts and culture are an important part of our community. We have a wide range of skilled creatives in our city which deserve celebration and appreciation. I fully support the Cultural Arts Commission, the Burbank Arts for All, the Creative Arts Center, and the many businesses and groups in the city where art is shared and practiced.
I would like to see a clear commitment the arts in our city, as a focus front and center. Perhaps changing our slogan eventually to “Live, Work, Play, Create”.
This is why I am currently part of the planning committee for the “OurBurbank Mural Scavenger Hunt”, as a way to celebrate our community, and it’s artists, while practicing social distancing.
Are cultural arts important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
Burbank is the entertainment capital of the world, and as such, arts and culture are an important part of our community. We have a wide range of skilled creatives in our city which deserve celebration and appreciation. I fully support the Cultural Arts Commission, the Burbank Arts for All, the Creative Arts Center, and the many businesses and groups in the city where art is shared and practiced.
I would like to see a clear commitment the arts in our city, as a focus front and center. Perhaps changing our slogan eventually to “Live, Work, Play, Create”.
This is why I am currently part of the planning committee for the “OurBurbank Mural Scavenger Hunt”, as a way to celebrate our community, and it’s artists, while practicing social distancing.
Are cultural arts important to you? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
• Partnering with the School District
Our schools are an integral part of our community, and the children are our future. It’s imperative to invest in the health of our community that the city council and school board work together collaboratively. To this end, I support the recent efforts to work together with increased communication and reciprocal support, and would seek to expand this relationship even further.
I will work to:
Form a joint school board/city council sub committee to explore matters that concern both jurisdictions.
Reinforce existing inter-organization coalitions, and push for more opportunities to collaborate on shared interests.
Urge both entities to draft a letter of commitment between the council and school board to have open lines of communication and to work together, to ensure future generations of leadership continue a legacy of cooperation.
Respect the boundaries of the two entities, and to hold a continued high level of respect for those who serve on the school board and the district staff.
Our schools are an integral part of our community, and the children are our future. It’s imperative to invest in the health of our community that the city council and school board work together collaboratively. To this end, I support the recent efforts to work together with increased communication and reciprocal support, and would seek to expand this relationship even further.
I will work to:
Form a joint school board/city council sub committee to explore matters that concern both jurisdictions.
Reinforce existing inter-organization coalitions, and push for more opportunities to collaborate on shared interests.
Urge both entities to draft a letter of commitment between the council and school board to have open lines of communication and to work together, to ensure future generations of leadership continue a legacy of cooperation.
Respect the boundaries of the two entities, and to hold a continued high level of respect for those who serve on the school board and the district staff.
• Empowering Resident Voices
The only way we’ll be able to improve our community is with collaboration and buy-in. We need to come to the table together to work out how to tackle our recovery from COVID, how to meet the state’s requirement of 7,800 new housing units by 2029, how to improve our city’s transportation, how to tackle climate change, and many other concerns in our city. Regular opportunities for our residents voices to be included in the discussion will not only help council make better decisions, but will allow us to make change easier as we move farther into the 21st century.
I will work to:
Find ways to address residents’ concerns and communicate openly and frequently about planned and proposed changes in the community.
Build trust with the residents, small businesses, and local organizations that their voices matter, and to create and/or maintain relationships moving forward.
Encourage new ways of engagement that allow involvement beyond attending a city council meeting or planning board meeting, or sending an email.
Ensure residents have information about decisions, and how their participation has had an impact. Also ensuring that the community consistently has feedback and follow up with concerns.
Reach out to residents early in city processes, to ensure they are getting the full information about developments and projects.
Update our communication systems to be modern, accessible to all, and pertinent. For example, a city app with up to date pushes.
Easier ways to make public comment at city council meetings and assurance that comments are received and heard
As a council member, I pledge to have continued availability online and in person, offer listening sessions, to update the community regularly with important information, and to ensure that interested parties are notified when a relevant item is included in a council meeting agenda.
Is it important to you to be informed and included? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
The only way we’ll be able to improve our community is with collaboration and buy-in. We need to come to the table together to work out how to tackle our recovery from COVID, how to meet the state’s requirement of 7,800 new housing units by 2029, how to improve our city’s transportation, how to tackle climate change, and many other concerns in our city. Regular opportunities for our residents voices to be included in the discussion will not only help council make better decisions, but will allow us to make change easier as we move farther into the 21st century.
I will work to:
Find ways to address residents’ concerns and communicate openly and frequently about planned and proposed changes in the community.
Build trust with the residents, small businesses, and local organizations that their voices matter, and to create and/or maintain relationships moving forward.
Encourage new ways of engagement that allow involvement beyond attending a city council meeting or planning board meeting, or sending an email.
Ensure residents have information about decisions, and how their participation has had an impact. Also ensuring that the community consistently has feedback and follow up with concerns.
Reach out to residents early in city processes, to ensure they are getting the full information about developments and projects.
Update our communication systems to be modern, accessible to all, and pertinent. For example, a city app with up to date pushes.
Easier ways to make public comment at city council meetings and assurance that comments are received and heard
As a council member, I pledge to have continued availability online and in person, offer listening sessions, to update the community regularly with important information, and to ensure that interested parties are notified when a relevant item is included in a council meeting agenda.
Is it important to you to be informed and included? Share your thoughts with Tamala here.
Contact Tamala here about any other issues that are important to you.
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• COVID recovery
• Public Transportation • Traffic • Infrastructure • City Budget • Sales and Property Taxes • Old IKEA property • Airport noise • Supporting Veterans • Park and Rec • BUSD • ADUs • Air BnBs • I-5 Caltrans project/Burbank bridge • Multi-lingual access • Pickwick Center • Childcare • Pets/Animals/Dog Park • Noise ordinances • Equity • Healthcare/Hospital • Magnolia Park • Burbank Blvd. • Rent Control/Stabilization • City Services and Departments • Women's issues • Childen's issues • Senior inclusiveness • Disability inclusiveness |
• Safety
• Police/Fire • Biking/Bike lanes • Chandler Path • Zero emission power • Recycling • Non profits • Homelessness • Speeding on Glenoaks • Talaria/Whole Foods • Hiking trails, open spaces • Scooters/Electric Bikes • Burbank Mall • Filming/Studio activity • Rancho Neighborhood • Gun sales • Marijuana sales • Residential and Commercial Development • Multiculturalism • Library • Downtown Burbank • Crime • Metrolink/Metro • Fire and flood safety • Earthquake preparation • Multi-city and county collaboration • Unions • Minimum Wage • Voting • Neighborhood councils • Gig economy |