Masry to Seek the Firing of a Top Official

Flexing his newfound political muscle, Councilman Ed Masry will ask his colleagues next week to consider firing one of the city’s top two administrators--the first such request in city history.

Masry declined to discuss details, but said that during his three months on the council, he has analyzed the work being done by various employees and has “come to the conclusion that one of them should be terminated.”

Other council members declined to say whether they would support his request.

City Manager MaryJane Lazz and City Atty. Mark Sellers are the only employees who work at the will of the council, meaning that they can be fired for any reason by three votes. Both were evaluated in November and given sizable merit raises.

Masry declined to say which of the two he wants to terminate, and the request for a closed-session hearing does not require naming the employee in question. That employee must, however, be notified 24 hours in advance of Tuesday’s meeting and can request that the discussion be in a public forum, City Clerk Nancy Dillon said.

Masry’s move comes after a fiery City Council meeting last week that lasted nearly six hours, most of it focusing on a complicated development-rights swap aimed at saving 180 acres of open space known as the Western Plateau.

It also comes amid mounting criticism of Masry--the real-life lawyer celebrated in the Oscar-nominated film “Erin Brockovich”--who was elected in November. Although his supporters defend him, his vitriolic demeanor during the last three council meetings has sparked outrage from dozens of community leaders and former elected officials.

Masry made known his concerns about both Lazz and Sellers during the fall campaign, saying at the time that he would give them 90 days before judging whether to consider firing them.

He has said many times publicly that he believes that Sellers is incompetent, and he called the Western Plateau deal--which the city attorney’s office put together--”ill-conceived and ill-prepared.”

“I’ve been trying cases for 40 years, and I’ve defended some of the best con people in the world,” Masry said at the March 13 meeting. “This is as good a con I’ve ever seen. This is an all-time con.”

Part of the deal was resolving a handful of lawsuits, including one seeking $15 million in damages. At the meeting, Masry repeatedly said he was unaware of that lawsuit, and said later that he would fire anyone who tried to hide such a liability.

Sellers said Tuesday that he specifically informed Masry of that case Dec. 7 and has written documentation to prove it.

“He was a new council member and we had a meeting to go over all of our major cases,” Sellers said.

Countered Masry: “I certainly wouldn’t forget being told by Sellers or anybody that we were looking down the barrel of a $15-million judgment.”

As for Lazz, Masry said he believes that she runs the city fine from an administrative standpoint, but not in terms of policymaking.

“I think the problem is she oversteps her bounds,” he said.

Both Lazz, who has been with the city for 21 years, and Sellers, who has been city attorney for 18 years, declined to comment about Masry’s action.

Mayor Dan Del Campo said he won’t take the matter seriously unless a good case is presented during Tuesday’s closed-door meeting.

“If there is no basis, other than that they disagree on things, it’s probably not going anywhere,” he said. “When you’ve got the continuity of the city at stake here, you better have irrefutable evidence.”

Masry said he wouldn’t be suggesting the action if he didn’t think that it was the proper thing to do.

Council members Linda Parks and Andy Fox declined comment. Councilman Dennis Gillette could not be reached Tuesday.

Former Thousand Oaks Mayor Judy Lazar said both Sellers and Lazz are good administrators who would be tough to top in professionalism and efficiency.

“He’s trying to get rid of them so he can put in people who can kowtow to him, and that’s very unfortunate,” Lazar said.

But Newbury Park resident Trish Kellogg, a Masry supporter, said she understands his apparent frustration.

“As a private citizen, I don’t think I get very forthcoming information from staff,” she said. “He doesn’t feel he’s getting the information in a timely manner with as little spin on it as possible.”

Several community members have chastised Masry recently for his behavior at public meetings, which they describe as mean-spirited and embarrassing to the city.

Masry said that the criticism rolls off his back, and that he plans to continue doing what he said the people of Thousand Oaks elected him to do.

“When I attack city staff, it’s nothing personal,” he said. “I’ve got to get to the truth.”