BURBANK CANDIDATES NEAR END OF RACE; VOTERS TO CHOOSE COUNCIL, SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Burbank voters will head to the polls Tuesday for a primary election for the City Council and school board.

Because this is a primary, if any of the candidates pull in more than 50 percent of the vote they win a seat outright and do not have to proceed to the run-off election April 13. In 1997, all three council seats were won in the primary.

The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Two seats on the five-member Burbank City Council are up for election this year. Incumbent Councilmen Ted McConkey and Bob Kramer are running for their second terms against five challengers.

The challengers are David Laurell, a magazine editor; Alan Silvers, a sales manager; Marco A. Gonzalez, an educator and consultant; Talbert Ellis Kanigher, a retired Burbank police lieutenant; and Glenn J. Gujda, who works in telecommunications at Paramount Pictures.

In the school board race, three seats on the five-member panel are up for election. Realtor Elena Hubbell is asking voters to elect her to a third term, and fellow Realtor Mike McDonald is running for his second term. School board member David Nos opted not to run for re-election, leaving one seat open.

In addition to the incumbents, three others are in the race. They are Glen R. Forsch, a businessman; Norman A. Furman, a marketing director; and Richard A. Raad, a flooring contractor.

Once again the future of Burbank Airport has dominated the local election. In 1995, homeowner activists Kramer and McConkey were elected on a wave of anti-airport sentiment. Since their election, the council has taken an aggressive approach to securing a mandatory curfew on night flights and a noise budget. They want the restrictions before dropping their opposition to airport expansion.

The battle has involved nine separate court battles against the airport and three failed mediation attempts. The city has spent $6.2 million on lawyers and public relations firm to work on the airport issue.

Silvers wants to see an end to the airport battle, but the other challengers say they will continue the fight. Laurell supports Kramer's efforts but said McConkey's combative political style makes it impossible for him to help reach any sort of resolution with airport officials. McConkey counters that Kramer and his council colleagues want someone else in his seat because he's not a ``team player,'' frequently questions their decisions and many times opposes their choice to go into closed session on matters he feels should be public.

Gonzalez and Gujda also want controlled growth in the expansion but say new voices are needed to end the deadlock. Kanigher opposes any expansion of the airport whatsoever.

On the school board side, the campaign has focused mostly on improving student achievement, anti-crime issues, partnering with local business and the district's ambitious plans to renovate schools.

For information about the location of polling places, the Burbank City Clerk's Office can be reached at [phone].