YORBA LINDA

Two City Council members stormed out of their meeting Tuesday when a discussion about whether to hire an attorney to defend the mayor against a lawsuit filed by City Manager Arthur C. Simonian turned bitter.

Councilman Mark Schwing stood up, collected his papers and walked out after Mayor John Gullixson turned off the councilman’s microphone while he was talking.

At the time, Schwing was explaining why he believes the city should not pay for Gullixson’s legal expenses. Schwing warned the mayor that he would leave if his microphone was not turned back on. When Gullixson refused to turn it back on, Schwing left the room and Councilman Henry Wedaa followed him out before a vote was made on the matter.

Simonian is suing Gullixson, claiming the mayor violated his privacy when he released documents pertaining to the city’s investigation against him.

The council members’ exit prompted audience members to yell out to the mayor, and the meeting was abruptly adjourned around 9:30 p.m. for lack of a quorum. Things got chaotic as one resident threw agenda papers up in the air and walked out of the room shaking his head.