“Only one council member, Bob Yousefian, has said he would vote against these pay raises,” the advertisement read. It went on to say that “only Mayor Drayman and council member Bob Yousefian were open to a change in the Fire Department that would have reduced the financial drain by $10,000,000!”
Allen said he planned the advertisement to publish on the day after the pay increase vote, and paid for it with donations made to Vanguardians.
Yousefian’s colleagues on the council, after remaining silent on Tuesday when he offered his alternative budget plan, said the advertisement amounted to a political endorsement and degradation of public discourse over the council’s plan to close a $9.9-million shortfall for fiscal year 2008-09.
“How in concert can you be?” Councilman Dave Weaver said. “It’s an endorsement for Bob Yousefian for reelection.”
Councilmen Ara Najarian and Frank Quintero also face reelection in April.
Yousefian and Allen denied any political alliance Wednesday, although they have publicly aligned on several issues in recent months, including the budget and city employee pay increases.
“My actions are based on my own mind set,” Yousefian said. “It has nothing to do with Barry Allen.”
Yousefian’s siding with budget critics and his accusations of fiscal mismanagement have been a constant source of strain for the City Council.
“I think there is a general fatigue on the council and staff with dealing with some upheaval and flailing that we’ve heard for the last couple months,” Mayor John Drayman said. “I hope we move forward.”
To do that, the council will have to get through Tuesday, when the full $750.3-million budget comes up for formal adoption.
