As the recession continues to sap municipal revenues, it came as no surprise that the city’s budget assumed the role as the foremost campaign issue.
And while the format left little room for anything beyond one-minute sound bites, it was enough to allow for brief differences in how each candidate would approach the fiscal problem.
Challengers billed themselves as reform-minded outsiders, and incumbents propped up their years of experience as needed tools for solving the budget crisis that has bore an $8.4-million gap into this fiscal year.
But within the two camps, candidates differed on how to close current and projected shortfalls.
Councilman Ara Najarian, who also serves as incoming vice chairman on the county Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said tapping state and federal resources would play an important role, especially once the Obama administration gets its stimulus bill past Congress.
“If they’re going to be spreading it around, we need to get some of it,” he said.
But his colleague, Bob Yousefian, argued against relying on outside funding, saying he had little faith Glendale would get “any of those stimulus packages.”
“Washington is not here to save you,” he said.
Cutting costs as a way to sound fiscal ground was a shared theme for many challengers, who attributed the city’s financial woes to unchecked spending that would continue “until we reverse our policies,” said Bruce Philpott, a retired police chief from Pasadena who has long advocated for reduced fire engine staffing as a way to save money.
