Masry to Seek Firing of Top Official in Thousand Oaks

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 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.

Masry made known his concerns about Lazz and Sellers during the fall campaign, saying 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.”

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.

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

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.

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