Photo: Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski from Burbank city website
Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski is not happy with the way the Burbank Leader newspaper reported on that statement read by Mayor Gary Bric at last Tuesday’s city council meeting. The much-talked-about and reported-on statement is the first official public reaction from the entire city council to a slew of police lawsuits and a number of investigations going on in Burbank. The complete statement is posted on this blog.
Today I was over on the Leader website and read an opinion piece by Councilman Golonski. He claims the newspaper’s story, “FBI probes Police Dept., “ about that statement last Wednesday, “… omitted some important facts, so I’d like to clarify the important points that I believe were inaccurately portrayed in the article.”
One of the points Golonski makes is that the story “… reported that the mayor “blew the lid off the investigations” after the council had remained silent on the legal action building against the city. While our statement contained more detailed information on the investigations, the fact that there are both internal and external investigations looking into issues at the police department was disclosed publicly in response to oral communications at a council meeting as far back as May.”
In fact, it was Golonski who made the revelation about those “… internal and external investigations…” at a city council meeting on May 19, 2009. Golonski’s disclosure was mentioned in a story on this blog back in May as well.
The councilman has a few other issues with that newspaper article. Here’s the link to Golonski’s response, which also appears in today’s print edition of the Leader.
I’m not saying this to be inflammatory as I care very deeply about this community but I think new leadership is needed. I would say many of the City Council Members, the City Manager, City Attorney and the Police Chief should step down or not seek re-election again.
Gordon and Reinke both behind the scenes are very on top of these things while Jess is scratching his ass and Gary is playing the puppet to Golonski. Mike Flad needs to be more of a symbolic execution (although he is not innocent). Chief Stehr should have been placed on leave a while back and terminated. The City Attorney’s Office needs a clean sweep.
I don’t mean to sound crazy but I believe this is what it is going to take to give Burbank residents, like myself, peace of mind.
Right on B Town:
Councilman Golonski has been in charge for way too many years and the funny thing is it’s been while he has been in control that everything has gone to hell.
For years Councilman Golonski nods and the council majority jumps through their deisgnated hoop. We don’t need trained seals named Bric or Talamantes right now.
The statement from the city council was a good move —but it is not enough to ease the concerns of a lot of Burbank citizens. Perhaps if the council members had broken their silence and stepped up back in the early part of the summer, that statement might calmed some fears.
What’s needed now is strong action by city council members to show they can guide the city through the difficult times ahead.
All the statement does is show emperor Golonski has no clothes.
Well they lead us into the times we are now in, I have little confidence that their style of leadership can lead us out of these times.
If Golonski is sincere about reform and investgation. He needs to petition a judge for a “consent decree” This is th only way to ensure oversight and restore public trust that anything is being done other than a cover up.
I doubt he will because wasn’t it reported that a member of the police department (now plaintiff) went to him about the corruption and he chose to go run to Flad and Stehr instead of telling the other council members?
Golonski, had better start acting adversarial to corruption instead of hiding it or he needs to be investgated. Oh and stop telling the Mayor what to do…you are making him look bad.
Nuts that’s a really good question you just asked. How many cops went to councilmembers about this stuff and what did the councilmembers do about it ? I didn’t think about that one but I bet some did so when do they tell us what they did when they found out ?
Oh and didn’t Councilmanwoman Reinke come from the Police Commission ? So what did she do when she was there anyway ?
Danny, did Reinke come from the commission? That makes a lot of sense why she is not making a stink. The commission did nothing which is almost the smae thing as condoning this misconduct. Why does she not ask more questions? Or stand with Gordon?
Yea she came from the Police Commission and I am thinking the same thing, she should be asking lots of questions. Also she is an attorney so she should know what questions to ask but she seems to just sit there bored.
Who cares about his issues, I suspect many people have issues with him and where is his concern about that ?
Golonski IS one of the problems.
Purpose of the statement by Mayor Bric(written by Golonski) and Commentary by Golonski is suspect.
Suits are filed,Barlow releases derogatory personnel files to press, more suits are filed, Barlow is named as a defendant in one, Golonski defends City action releasing file, City issues Press Release attacking the character of Bill Taylor and his career choises, Mayor issues statement, Gordon issues statement, —
BARLOW TELLS REPORTERS WE DON’T COMMENT ON PENDING LITIGATION.
No, we just attack the plaintiff’s, denigrade their attorneys, ask judges to sanction them, use a PR guy from Oklahoma to “handle” the press, and still pay BARLOW,SCOTT,& others to give all of us more of the same.
Nice breakdown Dixie…Like Ricky Ricardo would say “Golonski got some splaining to do”!!!
Fronnie,
“What’s needed now is strong action by city council members to show they can guide the city through the difficult times ahead”
Very well put and absolutely to the point. In the past you have said Golonski talks to you so tell him this.
“Actions speak louder than words” Put some people on admin leave (Chief, Scott, Flad, etc) and petition a “consent decree” There is plenty of evidence for a judge to review.
You do that I am with ya! You keep talking, Im balking.
Going Nuts,
Golonski has written to me about comments or content on my blog. Just as he has written to the Burbank Leader about his beef with that story last week.
I get the impression he reads the local newspaper and the local blogs. Since I have expressed my opinions on this blog, he knows where I stand. Since this post and comments are about his opinion piece in the Leader, I’m pretty sure he’s going to read what’s here. So he’ll get your message straight from you — the best way.
Also, my name is all over this blog and the comments I make. Not the case with most of the folks who comment here. Which is okay.
If you would like to send Golonski or any of the city council members e-mails with your name and comments —you can find their e-mail addresses on the Burbank city website. Here’s the link http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/index.aspx?page=32
From what I’ve heard, city council members take e-mails and letters from Burbank citizens very seriously.
Great idea, email Dave Golonski. Problem is Dave Golonski doesn’t even respond to emails from people!
Jon,
The e-mails and letters from the public are frequently commented on by the city council and the city clerk at council meetings. I don’t know how many e-mails get a personal response from Councilman Golonski.
If you have a serious issue perhaps e-mailing the city clerk or Councilman David Gordon might be the way to go.
I do watch council meetings and in all honesty I do hear the City Clerk mention emails and many times Dr Gordon mentions them but the others rarely if ever mention emails.
I think most of them come in with their minds made up and really could care less what taxpayers think about much of anything. That’s why I guess most people don’t even bother saying anything to them, it’s a waste of time.
Unless you want to get parking tickets and other bad things coming your way don’t send anything to city hall.
Fronnie
I agree with you about serious issues and emailing Councilman Gordon. I doubt he would ever fire back an email filled with threats to you like the mayor does.
Jon,
I agree with you, too.
Pepper,
Did “bad things” happen to someone you know after they contacted city hall about an issue?
Typical council to hide behind the scenes and blame everyone else except the so called “fearless leaders”.
Excellent points on who went to speak to whom and when and what was done, or lack thereof. Hence the end result we now have 7 pending lawsuits.
I agree with all the writers Fronnie, they all need to be on UNPAID leave immediately, they are the cause of the demise and expense to the city.
Attacking all the officers and now especially Taylor, has opened a lot of peoples eyes. They can not think that the citizens can keep dismissing this as a selective few cry babies in the dept.
And let’s be very clear no one is attacking all the officer’s, they do an exceptional job protecting our city regardless of the situation. How many people would give up spending time with their families on holidays, birthdays and working crazy hours, just for the fun of it. They are to be commended for the security of the city.
What is NOT tolerated is the behavior, actions and retaliation that is being handed down. We must all remember the 2 R’s “Respect and Responsibility “, respecting each other is the key to peace. We all need to agree to disagree and find a solution to this immense problem we are facing and let’s face it, it’s not going away anytime soon.
You know that more officer’s would come forward if they knew they would not be a target. But who wants to jeopardize their job, position and income.
Dave Golonski, needs to step down, he has been in that chair for much too long and obviously is doing nothing to improve the situation of this city, otherwise, it would not have gotten so out of control.
Let’s begin to ask more questions.
Reinke – as an attorney & former commissioner what are you inquiries? You should have plenty.
Bric – if you believe in truth, seek to find it.
Who else in the council is going to step up to the plate and speak up for the citizens who elected you to office to do what’s right for our city. Today, we are unfortunately the talk of the Nation in a negative way. We need to restore this city’s good name and if that means major cleaning than so be it. We do Spring Cleaning at home, why should the city be different.
Fonnie, please keep up ALL the good work, you are one of a selective few, who is trying to get to the bottom of the truth. GOD bless you for that.
When I catch a Burbank City Council meeting on tv I have seen over the years how well Mr Golonksi listens to people, NOT AT ALL. He has this tendency to restate what people said into what he wishes they had said. It’s garbage and with one exception the rest of them sit there and let him get away with it. The biggest disappointment is Councilman Talamantes. He was an employee and knows just how they get treated in this town so he should show some back bone and say something.
Ok people for what about 3 years or so the city council does whatever their staff tells them to ?
The only one who ever asks any questions is Councilman Gordon and for the most part he gets no answers to his questions ?
What gives here anyway ? I get that we have a city manager but I also get who the city manager works for. If the council members can’t stay on top of things they need to step aside and let somebody who can take over PERIOD!
Interesting story about the ‘NOLAN MEMO’, hmm why would the city pay money to attorneys to try and hide stuff if they want everything investigated and cleaned up ? The answer is simple, they don’t want everything cleaned up! So who paid the attorney to try and hide stuff anyway ?
http://semichorus.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/the-nolan-memo/#respond
The fearless leaders , that comment has me laughing. Our leaders are afraid of their own shadows.
This is a ex-burbank Captain who made chief in texas. He tried to pull some fast ones and the local council voted him out fast…”Texas Style”
Burbank ought to take some small town leadership lessons from Texas.
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/Police_chief_on_administrative_leave
Seems like after all is said and done…more is said than done.
The Texas style story, it says right there this Chief worked for Burbank. Now doesn’t that just look great for Burbank.
Apparently there is just so much to all of this stuff, how long has all of it really been going on ? Could it be as long as Councilman Golonski has been running the City Council ?
Fronnie
This story is a hoot. Councilman Dave Golonski is not happy with how the Burbank Leader reported his statement ?
Maybe this should read HOW DARE THE BURBANK LEADER NOT PRINT EXACTLY WHAT COUNCILMAN GOLONSKI WROTE.
The Burbank Leader is doing something right when Councilman Golonski is forced out of the shadows to do a little damage control.
This should be a headline story that Councilman Golonski expects everyone to do and say exactly what he tells them to. That’s been the case for years and its good that it is coming to light. Time for a regime change in Burbank my friends.
This is ridiculous ! When is the city council going to step up? Fire them all!!! We need a rally or a protest.
There is a point that needs to be made here. Councilman Golonski disagreed with some of the content of a newspaper article, so he responded in a professional manner. This is in great contrast to Mayor Bric’s recent e-mail threats against blogger Jim Carlile.
Mayor Bric’s e-mails were more in line with Assistant City Attorney Juli Scott’s verbal attack/threats at that police training session, last month.
Also, there has been grumbling about the official city council statement Mayor Bric read at the September 29 city council meeting. It turns out, Golonski had a hand in writing it. Well, fine. Perhaps Mayor Bric will learn from that experience how a city official should respond and not send out any more toxic e-mails.
In the tough times ahead, we need ALL BURBANK CITY OFFICIALS to act in a manner that doesn’t make a bad situation worse.
Mayor Gary Bric’s threatening emails showed who he is as a person and reveals his actual intelligence level. That is scary enough when I know he is the current mayor.
But there is a point here, the city council will not make the situation worse by pretending to be civil and polite like Councilman Golonski did. The situation will start to get better when the council starts to be truthfull and honest. It will get better when they stop hiding in dark rooms plotting how to cover and defend what’s been going down.
Councilman Golonski was deceptive and dishonest in his reply, sorry but no matter how polite his lies and deceit are, they remain lies and the lies are why we are in the entire mess.
Markie,
I think Golonski put his opinion out there in a civil and polite manner. I don’t know if he was pretending or just writing in the style required for the community commentary forum.
And I think his commentary gives readers the opportunity to judge his comments, the newspaper article, and the city council statement for themselves.
On this blog, I require comments to be civil and professional. That encourages discussion and debate. You can disagree or agree, your choice. So I don’t have a problem with someone being civil and polite in an opinion piece.
Markie,
I agree with you, the city council needs to step up and be truthful about what is going on. I just don’t think the Juli Scott rant or Bric’s toxic e-mails are the way for city officials to improve public confidence or to lead us out of this mess we’re in.
I want to make sure that everyone is talking about the same Councilman Dave Golonski, Could there be two of them and some other “lucky” city that has one ?
Mayor Bricks emails could be more in line with something from the Burbank City Attorney’s office but don’t forget who the people in that office really work for, his name is Dave Golonski.
Don’t forget that Mayor Brick said he got this phone call from Dave Golonski to get to work on some statement. That sure didn’t sound like some group council effort to me.
I don’t know about you all but it looks to me like the Golonski ideas are the problem and the rest of the council needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE – LOL
It is too late for them to wake up. It seems like they need some more closets because the skeletons are falling out from behind every door.
There is so much going on and none of it sounds right to me.
The problem with this thing in the Burbank Leader from the councilman is that it’s just excuses. All he wants to do is say they are doing so much but come on if that’s true why is everything going wrong.
I want them to stop telling me how much they do and how great they are and start making things right.
You know what ?
This councilman Golonski can write this long thing in the Burbank Leader all about all the things they do and did. The mayor can read this long statement thing at their meeting. But you know what is really missing ?
They don’t say
WE WILL NOT TOLLERATE PEOPLE BEING MISTREATED.
Why is that so hard for them to say ? It bugs me they don’t say it.
I agree there is more the city council needs to say and do right now. Don’t forget, Bric and Golonski, are only two members on the city council. There are three other members, Dr. David Gordon, Anja Reinke, and Jess Talamantes. All three are free to go along with Bric and/or Golonski, are strike out on their own.
Fronnie Lewis,
It appears to me that Councilman Gordon is the only one who strikes out on his own. Isn’t that what the snide comments about 4 to 1 votes I read about from some people in the Burbank Leader letters is aimed at ?
Every council meeting I catch it’s Councilman Gordon asking questions and challenging things. The rest of that bunch just sits there chomping at the bit to get out of there.
Honda just maybe they won’t say anything about not tolerating abuse because they do tolerate it ? The guy who has been there forever really does get dismissive of anyone who disagrees with him, especially other council members.
Esther Espinosa was at the meeting last night and she said how she and other people have come for years and begged for help from the council. She said how the council has done nothing to stop the abuse.
They have done something, remember how when Councilman Golonski was the mayor he would interrupt her ? He would tell her that abuse and mistreatment is not city business.
There it is, there is what he really thinks. If you watched council meetings ever you have seen it. It’s not just Mrs Espinosa its others to. They come and beg for help and he has said that’s not city business.
When I read his story he wrote I thought at all the people who begged for help. If he cared why did he just interrupt them and tell them and us they were all wrong on the spot and not even need to investigate anything at all why did he say its not city business ?
That’s the story that tells it like it is if you ask me.
Really well said Danny. Councilman Dave Golonski can write what he wants, he can write it nice and polite but you’re right watching council meetings his actions have show the true picture. I could not agree more.
I just realized something to help me understand all this craziness.
The taxpayers are not paying for justice in all of this. They are paying for criminal defenses.
NOT JUSTICE, BUT DEFENSES. How can you be investgating your own defense and be objective or tell the complete truth?
It is clear to me now with Fronnie’s article about Scoot’s rant…they will spend until there is no tomorrow because they are not paying for it.
This is what happens when you fight all the way like Juli Scott said she is going to have the city do.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-southgate7-2009oct07,0,359934.story
Funny…the case sounds just like Burbank right down to the Deputy Chief.
Going Nuts
They spend to defend because Burbank never does anything wrong in their minds. Look at how much time they waste giving stupid awards for stupid things.
It’s all about a pretty picture and not about truth. I want to gag watching the awards week after week because they are nothing but a public relations move. Most weeks they can’t even pronounce peoples names correctly and the best weeks are when the awardees don’t even come to get their coveted prize. They really think it creates the perfect picture and shows how caring they are, what a joke.
On the awards, I nominate Fronnie Lewis for one of their awards. She does the blog as a community service and that should be reconized with a special Mayors award.
Flipp that’s a great idea, the citizens choice awards. I bet the people who get them would change real fast if the citizens voted for who gets an award huh ?
I vote for Fronnie Lewis and her blog too.
Stretch
Thanks for the South Gate story. Looks like Burbank has become more like South Gate these days. How sad.
On the awards at City Council Meetings I totally agree they are nauseating. It’s just a payback for friends.
Re the story time with Councilman Golonski in the Saturday Leader give me a break.
I don’t care at all about the tone I care about the content. The content is missing all together, it’s more of the same you will believe this because I said it and I am me trash.
My advice is stop wasting time writing your defense and do your job and clean house.
The question I have is how much of the defense money is really being spent to defend some council members themselves ?
As things come out which council members knew about all of this and why didn’t they report it to outside authorities themselves?
I ask myself why is it Councilmember Golonski never addressed that question when he wrote to the newspaper ?
Who can replace the two outgoing council members any ideas?
What two outgoing councilmembers ? Do two of them plan to jump ship before it sinks ?
I sure know which ones I wish were about to go bye-bye.
Here is a telling video clip from Burbank City Council, watch what brings a smile to this officers face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx7GV9qi89c
Of course it does…thats the same guy Puglisi (chief wifes cousin) that made up the tripod law. The woman next to him is the one who schedules all the sweet overtime gigs.
BREAKING NEWS
controversy about Burbank Civil Service Board
http://whatsupinburbank.wordpress.com/the-new-civil-service-board-controversy/