$15,000 Raised for Simonian

At the stately Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, monument to a president destroyed by scandal, Yorba Linda’s besieged city manager on Wednesday raised about $15,000 from friends who hope he can avoid a similar fate.

Arthur C. Simonian, fired by the City Council in September but reinstated by court order last week, will use proceeds from the $100-a-person reception to defend himself against a city lawsuit accusing him of two decades of financial malfeasance.

While he has adamantly denied the allegations--that he collected more than $300,000 in improper bonuses and benefits--Simonian on Wednesday spoke only of his love for Yorba Linda and his appreciation for the outpouring of support he has received.

“It won’t be forgotten,” Simonian told the guests. “It’s made its mark on me more deeply than I can express.”

More than 100 friends and supporters filled the Nixon Library’s spacious lobby for Wednesday night’s fund-raiser, billed as a “Celebration to Honor Art.” They greeted Simonian with hugs and handshakes and, while mingling around a Christmas tree amid holiday decorations, staunchly defended the man who served as Yorba Linda’s city manager since 1972.

The room was also filled with some of Yorba Linda’s top officials, including two City Council members, the head of the city parks department and the chief of police. In the corner, playing the organ, was the director of the city library.

Don Bendetti, who serves on the Nixon Foundation’s board of directors, said of Simonian, “We believe in him. From what we’ve read, we don’t believe he did anything wrong.”

Said Irwin Fried, a former City Council member: “I know Art. I like Art, and I don’t think that he was treated fairly. I think his reputation was trashed deliberately.”

City Engineer Roy Stephenson, who helped organize the reception, said most of the guests contributed $100 to $300, which will go to Simonian’s defense fund. The money will be added to the $15,000 that Simonian collected at a Nov. 22 golf tournament, Stephenson said.

Simonian said he will report the donations as gifts when he files his annual financial disclosure with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Under state law, local government officials are allowed to accept gifts worth up to $300 as long as they are properly disclosed, commission spokeswoman Sigrid Bathen said.

Simonian chose the Nixon Library because of his strong ties to the institution, which is nestled next to the small wooden bungalow in Yorba Linda where Richard M. Nixon was born. Executive Director John Taylor said Simonian was instrumental in bringing the library to the city. San Clemente, the location of Nixon’s “Western White House,” also waged an aggressive campaign for the library.

Yorba Linda Mayor John M. Gullixson, who led the council vote to fire Simonian, said the decision of the Nixon Library staff to allow the fund-raiser sullies the reputation of the institution, Yorba Linda’s main attraction.

“It reflects poorly on the library. I think it reflects poorly on President Nixon,” said Gullixson, a Nixon loyalist. “There are some ugly little parallels in terms of issues about a cover-up. Nixon made some bad decisions, but at least they were never to enrich himself.”

An audit by the city’s special investigator earlier this year found that Simonian had granted himself annual bonuses of up to $14,000 and collected other expensive perks without City Council approval. Those extras included a $1-million life insurance policy and a leased 1997 BMW 540i, both paid for from the city treasury. The council sued Simonian in October to recover more than $300,000 in allegedly improper compensation he collected beginning in 1984.

Simonian’s dismissal unleased a bitter political battle that has consumed the council. Simonian’s supporters are mounting a recall campaign against Gullixson.

The Orange County district attorney’s office also reviewed the allegations but declined to prosecute Simonian, saying the benefits in question could be allowable under the very broad terms of the city manager’s employment contracts.

An Orange County Superior Court judge last week ruled that Simonian was fired improperly and ordered the city to put him back on the payroll.

Simonian will remain on administrative leave until the bitterly divided council can decide his fate. The council has been deadlocked since member Gene Wisner retired to Michigan the day after the vote to fire Simonian. A special election to replace Wisner is set for March 7.