Burbank, California, Mayor Konstantine Anthony faced sharp criticism from city council members and residents over a viral video on social media that showed him being spanked at a drag queen bingo event.
Councilwoman Tamala Takahashi expressed at the Burbank City Council meeting on Tuesday that she appreciated all of the phone calls and emails that she received, calling them “very helpful.”
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She admitted to struggling with how to handle the public uproar over the mayor’s behavior after receiving more than 50 phone calls and over a hundred emails.
The Burbank city official explained the impacts the mayor’s subsequent actions — which included changing his social media name to “Mayor Spanky” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as well as his response to criticisms — have had on the council.
Takahashi said the “quips and renaming of accounts” stop “being fun” and “stop being entertaining” when that banter “affects our city.”
“The city staff has wasted about 30 hours or more of taxpayer money on this issue,” she said.
The councilwoman added, “I would shake my head, but this time, unfortunately, Mr. mayor, you brought the circus to city hall, and this is where I feel like the line has been crossed.”
She clarified that she had no problem with him participating in the event and admitted to being a fan of drag queen shows but that “the way” he handled the criticism was “bad judgment.”
“There were about a hundred opportunities to de-escalate, but instead, it was escalated,” Takahashi said.
Takahashi explained that discussions about the mayor’s future on the council have gotten “very serious.”
“We’ve been asked to even remove you from council. We’ve also had the option to bring censure to a vote,” she said.
Takahashi closed her comments with a request for the mayor.
“I would just like to make this request personally that you keep your personal life personal,” the councilwoman concluded.
In response, Anthony admitted “a loss in decorum in my response” that has caused the city council to “come under heavy scrutiny.”
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“I’ve never seen something like this before. So, navigating it has been very difficult,” Anthony said. “I’m hoping that what I can learn from this are things that will help me do better, speak better, pause when I need to instead of reacting immediately, and understand that what I personally see as my role, and my duty, and my job is not the same as what everybody else sees. And I think that is still hard for any elected official to do, but I’m having a difficult time with it.”
“I come from a very silly, performance background. To me, what is goofy and normal — to other folks seems inappropriate. And that’s not their fault. That’s mine,” he continued. “I need to learn that line, and I need to learn when it is being crossed and when to step back.”
