Burbank Republican Party
The Record
A running, dated record of what we publish — voter guides, letters, statements, and documents. Newest first.
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Why Burbank Must Repower Olive Now
Burbank Water and Power’s own Chief Financial Officer says renewable power now costs three times what it did a few years ago, and the City Council just approved a 9.9 percent annual electric rate increase. Meanwhile the Olive Power Plant sits idle and third-party purchases rose from $75 million in 2023 to $90 million in 2025. The purchase records, the fuel mix, a documented repower precedent next door in Glendale, and why the city doesn’t need to wait for a study due in 2029.
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Trump v. California — Supreme Court Sides With the President on Election Integrity
The Supreme Court stayed a nationwide injunction blocking President Trump’s election-integrity Executive Order, ruling 5–4 that California and 22 other states sued before they had a real injury to sue over. What the order actually says, what the Court decided (and didn’t), both dissents, and the full opinion.
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Why you must vote no on Measure C
Measure C asks Burbank voters to raise the hotel tax again. Before you vote, a look at the city’s own budget: a building left vacant since 2003, an animal shelter budget nearly six times what comparable cities pay, and a local nonprofit sector sitting on $2.5 billion in assets nobody has asked for help.
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The 340: Where Los Angeles County’s Young Republicans Live on Campus
Of 4,973 registered voters aged 18 to 24 living in student housing across Los Angeles County, 340 are Republicans — and more than a third of them are at two campuses. The numbers, the method, and what the analysis does not show.
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Why Burbank Should Elect Its City Council by District
Burbank is the last body in this city still elected city-wide - the school board already elects by trustee area. Where we stand, and the part we played in how this reached the ballot.
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The Tax That One in Five Burbank Voters Passed
On October 1 the sales tax in Burbank goes to 11 percent for five years. Measure ER passed countywide by 25,770 votes - and 40,264 registered Burbank voters did not vote on it.
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Open Letter to Burbank City Council Candidates: What the Overtime Is Really Costing Us
Six City employee organizations will offer to interview or endorse every Council candidate — and their pay, overtime, staffing and contracts are what that Council spends four years voting on.
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Open Letter to Burbank Board of Education Candidates: Guard Your Independence on Union Endorsements
As trustee-area campaigns begin, we urge every candidate for the Burbank Board of Education to weigh whether an endorsement from the teachers’ union—whose pay, benefits, staffing, and working conditions may come before the Board for a vote—could affect, or appear to affect, their independence. Our concern is not with teachers; it is with the independence the office requires.
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Burbank precinct map: where the Republicans are
An interactive map of Republican concentration across Burbank, plus the full party registration table for all 135 precincts, built from the 2026 Los Angeles County voter file. Aggregate figures only — no personal information, and precincts with fewer than ten voters are withheld.
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Prop 98 was sold as a floor. Sacramento made it a ceiling — and Burbank pays twice
We oppose California’s school-funding scheme, plainly: it takes Burbank’s income, sales, and property taxes, routes them through a Sacramento formula, and diverts them to other districts — while Burbank ranks 35th of 39 in the county and taxes itself again to fill the gap. The history, the money in one pie, and our demand: keep our community’s money in our community.
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Our streets are not a campground: a plan to protect Burbank’s neighborhoods, services, and taxpayers
Burbank already bars RVs 22 feet or longer from a public right-of-way without a displayed permit, caps any stay at 72 hours, allows no more than 96 permit-days a year, and treats shuffling within the same block as one act of parking. What Burbank lacks is enforcement, and any ordinance directed at living in a vehicle. We call for the ordinances on the books to be enforced, for enforcement data to be published, and for a vehicle-habitation ordinance written on the Los Angeles section 85.02 time-and-place model.
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When the city can’t tell you what it spent, that isn’t preservation — it’s a blank check
A public records request into the historic designation of one ordinary house at 1515 East Alameda Avenue came back with four words every taxpayer should read: there are no records to furnish. Burbank charges no fee, tracks no staff time, and recovers no cost — by design — while a permanent 2018 sales-tax increase keeps the money flowing. We call for full cost recovery, real cost tracking, a high objective threshold, and an end to the taxpayer subsidy.
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Open Letter to Judge Frank M. Tavelman: Restore Small Claims Proceedings in Burbank
The Burbank Republican Party asks the Los Angeles Superior Court to restore a full-time, part-time, or periodic small-claims calendar at the Burbank Courthouse, improving local access to justice for residents and businesses.
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How to file to run for the Burbank Board of Education — step by step
One form, one signature, one deadline — filing closes Thursday, August 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM. The plain-language walkthrough, including the notary option in Elections Code sections 8028 and 8040 so you only drive to Norwalk once, or not at all — plus the county's official pick-up authorization form, viewable right on the page.
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Get help running for office in Burbank
Republicans thinking about a run for City Council, City Clerk, City Treasurer, or the Board of Education can get free help with the filing paperwork and nominating signatures. Tell us which office interests you and we will connect you.
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The 60-Mile Toll on Democracy
Every candidate for the Burbank Board of Education must file in person at the county registrar in Norwalk — a sixty-mile round trip, thirty miles each way — before the August 7 deadline. The Burbank Republican Party asked Los Angeles County to send a representative to Burbank so residents could file in the city they seek to serve, and has received no reply. Ballot access should not depend on your commute.
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Run for the Burbank Board of Education Before the August 7 Deadline
Two Burbank Board of Education seats are on the ballot — the one elected office that drives the bonds and parcel taxes on your property tax bill. Candidate filing closes Thursday, August 7 at 5:00 PM, with no fee and no signatures required. An open letter urging Burbank property owners in trustee Areas 3 and 4 to run, or to help us find a candidate who will.
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Enabling Is Not Compassion: A Warning Burbank Cannot Ignore
A man in recovery told a city council that free pipes, free foil, and free housing kept him and his brother sick, while jail and accountability saved him. A state-licensed drug-detox home already operates at 1134 North Lima Street in a Burbank single-family neighborhood, opened with no hearing and no notice to neighbors. Burbank should say no to homeless shelters, tiny homes, and drug services.
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You Do Not Need an Appointment to Run for Burbank City Office
No appointment is required to pick up, complete, sign, or file nomination papers for Burbank City Council, City Treasurer, or City Clerk. A plain-language guide for prospective candidates, plus a detailed legal analysis under California Elections Code sections 10227 and 10224.
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Time for Tax Cuts, Not Handouts
Los Angeles County just raised the sales tax through Measure ER while handing out more than twelve million taxpayer dollars via its Commercial Acquisition Fund to buy commercial buildings for a chosen few, even as Burbank rents keep climbing. The Burbank Republican Party objects. The answer is tax reductions, not handouts.
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Open Letter to the Burbank City Clerk on Neutral Notice for the By-District Elections Measure
The Burbank Republican Party asks City Clerk Kimberley Clark to give voters early, frequent, and neutral public notice about the November ballot measure on by-district City Council elections.
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The Taxpayer Smoke Shop: How California Funds Pipes and Needles Instead of Recovery
A government-documents review of California's state-run paraphernalia pipeline: 786,304 drug-smoking supplies distributed in 2024 (up 779% since 2021), 25.8 million syringes in a single year, and a $10 million-per-year state "Clearinghouse" — with our conservative estimate that taxpayers fund at least $15-20+ million annually. Every citation is a state, county, or legislative document.
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Supreme Court Protects Girls' and Women's Sports
In West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that States may keep girls' and women's sports for biological females. The full opinion is posted, viewable on the page.
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Mahmoud v. Taylor: Parents Can Opt Their Children Out of LGBTQ+ Lessons
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools must let parents opt their children out of LGBTQ+ storybook lessons that conflict with their sincere religious beliefs. The full opinion of the Court is posted here.
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Burbank Unified Household Pay: Rodney and Lynn Rothacher
A 2013-2024 analysis of the BUSD household compensation records for Rodney S. Rothacher and Lynn Koontz Rothacher, including household pay, benefits, and year-over-year change.
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Burbank 2026 Local Election Information
A public information page on the Burbank City Council, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and Burbank Unified School District Board of Education seats scheduled for November 3, 2026.
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Stop Wasting Burbank Ratepayer Money on Paper Water Reports
Burbank Water and Power mails a full printed water-quality report to every home, but federal and state law already allow digital delivery. A call to switch and save ratepayer money.
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Open Letter to the Burbank Fire Chief on Out-of-State Fire Staffing
The Burbank Republican Party calls on the City to adopt a lawful 40-mile residency-distance standard for fire department personnel, after learning a Burbank firefighter is living in Texas. The City records and Fire Chief confirmation are posted as evidence.
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The True Cost of Building a Home in Burbank
A deep-dive, agency-by-agency breakdown of the taxes and fees embedded in building a new single-family home in Burbank.
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When Citizens Can Sue on Behalf of Their Own City
Moving Oxnard Forward, Inc. is using the California False Claims Act to recover taxpayer money for the City of Oxnard over a broken auditor-rotation rule. The case page now includes the first and second amended complaints.
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June 2, 2026 California Primary — Voter Guide
The Burbank Republican Party's recommendations for the June 2, 2026 California statewide direct primary.
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Gutierrez v. City of Burbank — The District Elections Case
The court record of the California Voting Rights Act lawsuit that put district City Council elections on the November 3, 2026 Burbank ballot — complaints, demurrers, rulings, and the settlement.