Photo courtesy Chris Rizzotti
Many of the candidates in the 2015 Burbank election are remaining true to tradition. Realtor/Burbank Planning Board vice-chair, Chris Rizzotti, is taking a different approach. Rizzotti’s campaign has been breaking all the rules since it started. Rizzotti announced his candidacy last March, months before any other council candidate. Along with that announcement, Rizzotti hit the Internet quickly with an extensive and well designed political website. There’s a list of impressive endorsements on the site.
Recently, his campaign stirred up a controversy when its political signs began popping up all over B-town weeks before folks normally see these type of signs. So it was no surprise to me that when I sent out a short series of questions to six of the council candidates yesterday, Rizzotti was the first to respond. In fact, his answers arrived this morning in an email.
- Why are you the best candidate for a seat on the Burbank City Council?
I believe I will be the best candidate with the most relevant experience. I have held many positions in leadership, with a proven track record of success and service. Currently I’m the vice chair of the planning board where I have publicly voted on projects that affect our city. I have been fortunate to live in Burbank my entire life, in fact I have lived in every residential zip code in Burbank. As a small business owner, Real Estate Broker, I understand budgets, marketing and thinking outside the box.
- What are the major problems facing the city that you can help solve?
We need to balance our small town feel with the fiscal challenges of today, meet sustainability requirements and always provide the same excellent services our residents depend on. We need to make business retention and business development a priority, without sacrificing our small town feel. Keep long time good business here in Burbank and reach out to companies looking to relocate and make Burbank their option. Financially, this will benefit our city and residents. My track record of focus, balance, land use issues and being a small business owner will be key components to solving these issues.
- What are the biggest concerns of residents? What do you think the city council should do to alleviate those concerns?
I think our residents biggest concerns are services and maintaining those services, (Police, Fire, Senior Services, Streets and Traffic). Balance is the key to addressing these concerns. We need to look at all of our residents needs when properties turn over and make sure concerns over parking, traffic are being met, while at the same time look at the fiscal aspect. Our residents and our community partners all need to have a voice and weigh in so that the best outcome can be achieved.
For more information about Chris Rizzotti go to his website here. The Primary Nominating Election is on February 24, 2015 and the General Municipal Election is on April 14, 2015.
By the way, council candidate, Juan Guillen, answered these same questions in a post back in October.
Q & A with other city council candidates.
