Dear Neighbor,
 

Burbank has been my home since 1991, when my wife Emily and I bought what everyone told us would be our starter house on the Burbank Hillside. Thirty-three years, two children, a grandson, a couple of dogs, and about a dozen fish later, we still live in our starter house. We stayed, not because our house is a palace, but because our community is a treasure.

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I was born in Los Angeles, earned my Bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and spent the early part of my career writing and producing television game shows (most notably “Tic Tac Dough''). In 2003, My wife and I returned to a personal and family passion, by purchasing Continental Kosher Bakery, which we ran for eighteen years, baking the best challah and rugulach in Southern California. Currently, I serve on the Burbank Transportation Commission and am enrolled at California State University Northridge, earning a master’s degree in urban planning.

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My journey to this campaign began in December 2016 when I was in a serious accident. Commuting home from my bakery on my bicycle one evening, a driver in a parked car flung open their door and sent me flying into traffic. As I pulled myself off the asphalt, with two broken ribs and a punctured lung, I had what I like to call my “conversion” moment. The moment I decided it was unacceptable to have to risk one’s life to ride a bicycle in our city - and the moment that I began to direct my energies to working for safer streets.

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My advocacy for walkable, bikeable, and transit accessible streets led me first to become a Transportation Commissioner, and now, to run for City Council. I am running because we need leaders focused on the real challenges we face, like the need for safer streets, the lack of affordable housing, and confronting the climate emergency, and who are ready to roll up their sleeves and put in the work to achieve equitable, reasonable, and sustainable results. 

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My experience raising a family in Burbank, running a small business, and serving our city as a transportation commissioner has given me the background, perspective, and passion to help lead our city forward to the prosperous, sustainable, safe, and secure future we all desire.  

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Thank you for the opportunity to share my story and ask for your vote. 

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Sincerely,
Eddy Polon