In regards to Mayor Konstantine Anthony’s behavior at a recent event in which he was spanked by a drag queen, I am extremely disappointed that he represents the city that I have been a lifelong resident of — where my husband, also a lifelong Burbank resident, and I have chosen to remain and raise our children. Whether or not this occurrence was a joke, it used to be that our elected officials were held to a higher standard, knowing that they were chosen to represent their constituents and that honor and privilege were taken seriously.
I know this from personal experience — my father was elected to the Burbank City Council in 1986 and proudly served two terms. My siblings and I practically grew up at City Hall in the Council chambers. Although I was a young child at the time, I was brought up knowing that I was under scrutiny by default and my behavior better represent our family and city in the utmost ways possible. This has always stuck with me, even now as an adult with my father many years removed from public office.
It is disheartening and appalling to see that our current mayor has no regard for how his public behavior may be perceived. He acts as if this is all a joke, even going so far as to change his “X” (formerly Twitter) username to “Mayor Spanky” for a while on Monday, Sept. 11, in response to some criticism that he received. Meanwhile, videos of what transpired at that event are making the rounds across various social media platforms, portraying Mayor Anthony and the city of Burbank as laughingstocks.
I honestly couldn’t care less about what Mayor Anthony does in his personal life; but his actions at a public event, where he is representative of our city at large, were disrespectful to his position as leader of our city. It is disappointing that proper decorum is no longer an expectation for leadership and the notion of being held to a higher standard as a City Council member, much less the current mayor and someone who is running for an even higher elected position, is no longer relevant.
Allison (Hastings) Knowles
Burbank
First published in the September 16 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
