Yorba Linda Councilmen Leave Simonian Session

Two members of the bitterly divided Yorba Linda City Council walked out of a closed session Tuesday at which they were to debate and vote on whether to fire City Manager Arthur C. Simonian.

Councilmen Mark Schwing and Henry Wedaa said Mayor John Gullixson and special counsel Henry Kraft failed to follow proper procedure when they mailed Simonian a notice of Tuesday’s hearing and hired a court reporter for the session. Both actions required council approval, Schwing said.

“We are not trying to defend Mr. Simonian,” he said. “We had no option but to walk. We have to vote with our shoes.”

Simonian, ousted in September amid allegations of financial malfeasance, was reinstated in November by an Orange County Superior Court judge who ruled that he was fired improperly. He was immediately put on paid administrative leave by the council, which now is deadlocked over whether to terminate his contract or return him to City Hall.

Gullixson and Councilwoman Barbara Kiley favor firing Simonian. Schwing and Wedaa oppose the ouster of the longtime city manager, who has held the job since 1972.

The council has been divided over that and other issues since member Gene Wisner resigned last year. That vacancy will be filled in next month’s election.

The city has sued Simonian to recover as much as $300,000 in bonuses that Simonian allegedly paid to himself without authorization. He has sued the city to get his job back and last month filed an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Gullixson.