Vote Ushers in a New Era for Burbank : Elections: Past council candidates needed the support of the city’s major studios and industries. This time, labor unions played a key role. : NEWS ANALYSIS

In Burbank, the rules of the political game seem to be changing.

With the election of three City Council members Tuesday--all new to Burbank politics and all backed by labor unions--some see the first indications of a crack in the old guard.

Previous assumptions about what it takes to get elected to the City Council--a large campaign chest, City Hall support or the backing of the city’s major studios and industries--are being called into question by the election results.

“Politics as usual didn’t work,” said Mike Nolan, a City Hall watcher and former member of the Metropolitan Water District board. “City Hall doesn’t know what to do with this. City Hall didn’t pick the people who won.”

But with the shattering of old axioms comes the creation of new ones. The newly elected candidates--Dave Golonski, 34; Bill Wiggins, 43, and Susan Spanos, 29--were all backed by labor unions and associations, a fact not lost on some political observers and defeated candidates.

“The unions have control of the city,” said Ron Shively, who placed last in the race for three open seats on the five-member City Council. “They spent huge amounts of money. They spent an awful lot of time and effort.”

In a city that has been battered by the loss of nearly 15,000 jobs in the last two years from the departure of Lockheed and other businesses, some say that labor is emerging as a key factor in the city’s politics, perhaps even rivaling the role played by huge corporations such as Lockheed, Warner Bros. and Disney.

Studios and businesses did make significant contributions to Wiggins, but only one gave to Spanos and none contributed to Golonski, the top vote-getter.

This campaign year, labor groups such as the Burbank City Employees Assn., the Burbank Police Officers Assn., and the Burbank Fire Fighters Assn., offered endorsements, contributions and non-monetary contributions to each of the three winning candidates.

The Burbank Firefighters Local 778 Political Action Committee, for example, spent more than $16,500 on the election, according to campaign disclosure statements.

Shively argued that labor organizations launched a massive campaign against him and another candidate, Richard G. Messer, because both proposed measures that might impact pay raises of city employees.

“They were concerned, in these hard economic times, that they would have to give up something that they’ve gained . . . so they backed those candidates that they felt would be supportive of their efforts,” Shively said.

Messer and Shively were endorsed by four of the five council members and also received thousands of dollars in contributions from the major studios. Shively was also endorsed by eight former Burbank mayors, five current or former school board members, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and Newt Russell. Shively also stressed his years of professional experience and community service.

“People did not buy what I was trying to sell,” he said.

But in an era when the nation as a whole seems to be searching for a change, as demonstrated in last November’s presidential election, endorsements from politicians may have been more a hindrance than a help.

Neil Hancock, president of the Burbank City Employees Assn., dismissed assertions that unions now control city politics. Hancock said voters were dissatisfied with the incumbent council.

“The antics of City Hall and the philosophy of the current council is one that has gotten to be quite arrogant,” he said.

“The winning candidates have demonstrated a willingness to listen to the constituents before they form their opinions and that’s something different than what the current council is doing.

“The candidates stood on their own,” Hancock said. “They clearly spoke to the issues that concerned them and they were judged by the voters. They were either judged to be credible or non-credible.”

Of the top fund-raisers, only one was elected.

With campaign contributions totaling about $55,000, Wiggins raised more than any of the other six candidates. He received the highest number of votes in the primary election and placed second in Tuesday’s election.

Messer placed second in the primary and raised the second-highest amount of campaign contributions, but placed fifth in Tuesday’s race.

For some, the real surprise was the performance of Bob Kramer, a painting contractor and a former columnist for the Burbank Leader newspaper. Kramer placed a strong fourth in the race, trailing Spanos by less than 100 votes. Kramer’s campaign contributions only totaled about $7,000.

“The Kramer thing I think is a story in and of itself,” Nolan said. “I think it’s a credit to everyone in Burbank that a guy could come along and say, ‘Hey, I want to fix some of these things,’ and without having the thousands and thousands of dollars in campaign funds they say, ‘Hey Bob, give it a try.’ That’s a compliment to everyone in Burbank that that could still happen.”

Golonski, with about $18,000, was near the bottom of the list in campaign contributions, but he still was the top vote-getter, maintaining a consistent lead throughout the night. Tuesday night, surrounded by well-wishers, Golonski stressed again and again that an aggressive door-to-door campaign put him over the top.

“It was lots of footwork,” said Golonski, who hit the streets with several volunteers every weekend since January. “We knocked on a lot of doors.”

“It was an incredibly grass-roots campaign,” said Gregg Solkovits, a campaign consultant who worked for Golonski. “This was a very tight year trying to raise money.”

One of the messages that Golonski stressed as he knocked on doors was that he was “going to stand up to the developers and the business community.”

“He’s not anti-business, but he also thinks business should have to follow the rules,” Solkovits said.

At 29, Spanos is believed to be one of the youngest candidates ever elected to the City Council. She is also only the third woman in the city’s history to win a council seat.

Ted McConkey, who heads a homeowner association, said the success of the three candidates might be a consequence of the changes the city is undergoing demographically.

The population of renters has grown, he said. The renters who often have moved to Burbank from other areas such as West L.A. tend to be younger than longtime Burbank residents and may take a different approach to politics than others in the city.

“Consequently, the political realities that we found 10 to 15 years ago are no longer true,” McConkey said. “The new political base does not think the way the old political base did. They are more receptive to new ideas and new people.”

But McConkey said Burbank residents should not expect the new council to be able to simply erase the tough issues facing the city. Regardless of who sits on the council, the problems confronting Burbank remain the same.

“There is some reason for a lot of people to be happy,” McConkey said. “But I don’t think anyone should be complacent and think there’s going to be a revolution in City Hall. These people are going to have to switch from candidate to public officials. They have to get away from cliches and platitudes and face these issues.”

Golonski, Wiggins and Spanos will join Mayor Robert R. Bowne and Vice Mayor George Battey on the council.

Times correspondent Carmen Valencia contributed to this story.