A RUNOFF IN BURBANK; MCCONKEY, LAURELL TO VIE FOR COUNCIL; KRAMER WINS.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Incumbent Councilman Ted McConkey was forced into a runoff election by magazine editor David Laurell Tuesday night in the Burbank City Council primary race.

Councilman Bob Kramer was re-elected to his second term by a wide margin. He won his seat again outright, taking more than 50 percent of the ballots.

Eliminated from the field were Marco A. Gonzalez, Glenn J. Gujda, Alan Silvers and Talbert Kanigher, according to unofficial final returns.

Laurell came in second, slightly ahead of McConkey.

McConkey and Laurell, who will face each other in the April 13 general election, lost no time getting their new campaigns under way Tuesday.

After the returns were posted at City Hall, Laurell took on his opponent, saying that while he and McConkey agree on major issues such as controlling the growth of Burbank Airport, McConkey is not an effective representative for the city. ``It comes down to personalities. He's positioned himself as the lone wolf on this council,'' Laurell said. ``He's not able to sit down and have a reasonable conversation with someone.''

That, he said, makes it difficult for McConkey to help the city reach a resolution on the airport expansion stalemate.

``He cannot negotiate. He's not capable of it.''

McConkey fired right back, saying one needs to have a combative style when dealing with formidable opponents like airport officials and commissioners from Pasadena and Glendale.

``You can be the most charming person in the world and they'll eat you alive,'' McConkey said. ``If I hadn't been combative early on, that terminal would be in place now. They're out to do us in and if we don't know how to fight back, we're going to lose.''

McConkey said he was in a runoff election in 1995. ``I managed to pull it off with two-thirds of the final vote.''

As for facing off with Laurell, McConkey said he looks forward to taking on his opponent one on one.

``We're going to drop the cliches and platitudes and focus on the issues. You can't just have this happy talk and hope for the best.''

Kramer said that once again the airport will be a top council priority.

``Obviously, we need to solve the airport problem,'' Kramer said.

Kramer said he spent only about $6,000 on the race. He said his strategy was to put up a lot of signs and to walk precincts.

``I did a lot of walking. That always pays off,'' he said.

Running the election Tuesday was the responsibility of Burbank City Clerk Judie Sarquiz and her staff. As the primary approached, City Manager Robert ``Bud'' Ovrom said he teased the very pregnant Sarquiz that all she had to do was wait until after the election and then she could have her baby.

She almost made it. On Monday night, just a few hours before Burbank voters headed to the polls, Sarquiz delivered her second child, a girl, Sarah.

The City Clerk's Office reported that 8,224 ballots were cast Tuesday, a 16 percent turnout.

The city has 52,262 registered voters. Burbank has a population of 104,000.