Editorial:

You could almost hear the merry-go-round music as Mayor John Drayman and Councilman Bob Yousefian shouted at each other this week over, of all things, an appointment to the city’s Arts & Culture Commission.

The economy is headed toward the proverbial iceberg, and our local political leaders are squabbling over Yousefian’s sponsorship of Al Hofmann to an arts commission. God help us if we are plunged into a depression and the council has to grapple with a shrinking budget. If an arts commission appointment merits a shouting match, then what would a dispute over spending involve? Marching 50 paces and drawing guns?

This entire dispute is absurd on so many levels.

First of all, Drayman has a point. Why is Yousefian nominating someone with apparently no background in the arts to an arts commission? Hofmann’s background appears to be in the sciences. We admit those credentials are impressive. He’s had project management experience for NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. But how will his experience as an aerospace engineer serve him, or the community, on an arts commission?

And we’ll take Yousefian at his word that he wouldn’t have sponsored Hofmann if he didn’t think he was up for the job, but an appointment to a city commission concerned with the sciences would be most appropriate for him.

Still, was it really necessary for Drayman to harangue Yousefian with a five-minute recitation of Hofmann’s science credentials just to make his point? It obviously provoked a reaction that was not constructive.

And then, to top it off, the council members booted the issue to their next meeting because they appeared deadlocked in a 2-2 tie since Councilman Frank Quintero was absent.

We have a better idea. Ask Hofmann to wait for a commission appointment that’s a better fit and ask Yousefian to find someone more qualified for the job.

And this time, try to do it without all the shouting. The council has better ways to spend its time these days.