Prince George Mayor Simon Yu’s pants are on fire.
His response? Pour gas all over himself.
Did he honestly believe local taxpayers wouldn’t care that he spent $242 for a one-night stay at the Prestige Treasure Cove Hotel and charge it to the city?
He told the Citizen that he decided to get a room instead of taking a cab home and he’ll pay the $242 back to the city.
That completely misses the point. He should never have billed the city for that expense in the first place.
He told the CBC, who first broke the story Wednesday about Yu’s spending habits in his first year in office, that his assistant booked his $733 suite at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.
Not true.
Yu booked his own room and then sent the confirmation email to his assistant, according to a follow-up email from the city's communications manager, Julie Rogers, to the CBC.
Yu also told the CBC that it was the job of Rogers and her team to communicate his mayoral schedule to residents.
Not true.
The mayor shares his schedule with city council every two weeks but doesn’t share it with her department, Rogers told the CBC. Furthermore, his schedule is incomplete. It’s not a full accounting of how he spends his days.
Yu told the Citizen and CKPG he was given a $5,000 budget to redecorate his office when he was elected but chose not to spend that money.
Not true.
He spent $873.60 on art for his office and $139.06 on office plants, expensing it back to the city.
“I came in this role not totally understanding how the mayor’s expenses work,” said Yu in an interview Wednesday with the Citizen.
Well, that may be true. But that’s also not an excuse, just like it doesn’t work for the speeder who informs the cop after being pulled over that he didn’t see the speed limit sign.
The questionable spending is bad enough but it’s his reaction to the spending becoming public that is so galling.
Blaming city staff? Blaming inflation? Blaming budget practices and spending policies because he didn’t understand them?
Yu’s got the finger pointing part right.
Now the mayor just needs to stand in front of a mirror.
Neil Godbout is the Citizen’s editor
