City Council Candidate Profile: Ricardo Ortiz

Ricardo Ortiz entered the City Council race as the only non-incumbent vying for one of two seats up for grabs in the Nov. 8 election. As the current treasurer of the Rotary Club of Burlingame, past treasurer of the Burlingame Community for Education Foundation, treasurer of AYSO Region 63 and member of the Burlingame School District Bond Oversight Committee, one might guess city finances get top-billing in Ortiz’s priorities.

Ortiz, who has lived in Burlingame for 17 years, has held numerous community positions, accumulating advocates throughout town.

“We’ve had some pretty good support from the community,” he said. “I’ve been very fortunate.”

In advance of the upcoming election, Patch asked Ortiz a few questions.

What do you want to accomplish in the council member role?

My biggest thing to accomplish is to provide a little more clarity when it comes to pension liabilities and what we’re going to do about them. Then I would just make sure that we keep that high-speed rail train from coming through our town…. [and I would] do whatever I can to keep the cell phone antennas from ruining our town.

What experiences make you suited for this role?

As far as the city finances, I have 20 years of banking experience looking at financial statements. I’ve been involved in a ton of community organizations, I’ve worked on boards, I know how to work with people to get things done, especially volunteers.

Who are your primary supporters?

[They’re] primarily education people. The school board members from the Burlingame School District are people I’ve been dealing with through my involvement as the Chair of the Measure A Bond Oversight Committee. I’ve worked with them and we’ve had disagreements [but]…they think enough of me to give me their endorsement.

(Patch note: Ortiz is also endorsed by County Supervisor Dave Pine, BCE President Jennifer Slaboda, former mayor Joe Galligan and more. For a full list, click here).

What do you think is the biggest issue facing Burlingame right now?

I would add [to those mentioned above] the downtown development under the downtown specific plan…that’s going to be a very, very big issue moving forward.

What would you change about the current council?

Once again, I would pay a little more attention to our pension liabilities and looking long-term at our revenues and our expenditures [and] make sure we have our hands around it…[Looking now] its not very clear what we're going to do about our pension liabilities and medical liabilities.

To learn more about Ortiz, visit his website.