Masry Says Farewell to City Council

He’s taken on corporations, deep-pocketed developers and Hollywood with aplomb. But complications from diabetes forced Thousand Oaks’ celebrity politician Ed Masry on Wednesday to give up his role as one of the leafy city’s most popular leaders.

Just a year into his second term, Masry, 73, announced he is retiring from his seat on the Thousand Oaks City Council, effective immediately, to concentrate on his family and regaining his health, said his son, Louis Masry.

Masry has been hospitalized for most of the last nine months and had his right leg amputated just above the knee in September, Louis Masry said, adding that his father is still struggling to recover from that surgery.

“It became more and more apparent that he has to relinquish more of his duties,” he said. “It’s simply a good time for him to focus on his health and trying to get stronger.”

Masry is senior partner at Masry & Vititoe, a Westlake Village law firm whose long-shot, but successful, lawsuit against a water company was portrayed in the hit film “Erin Brockovich.”

He is also chairman of Save the World Air Inc., a for-profit firm that provides products designed to reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engines. He hopes to return to those positions once he recovers, his son said.

The City Council is expected to decide in coming weeks whether to appoint someone to fill the remaining three years of Masry’s term or to hold a special election. City Manager Scott Mitnick said he will present recommendations to the council soon.

Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, a friend and political ally of Masry, said the city is losing a “no-nonsense straight shooter.” The two environmentally minded politicians often voted together when Parks was a councilwoman, she said.

“He was a mentor,” Parks said. “He would always try to move us toward consensus ... but he was willing to fight for what he believed in. He enjoys a good debate.”

Over the years, Masry has put his clout and money behind many environmental causes. His tough votes on nearly any development proposal before the city made him popular with residents.

But the city’s business establishment has viewed him less kindly, contending that his anti-development stances are hurting the city financially.

The city’s caustic politics have swung back and forth between pro-environment and pro-business majorities over the last decade. Masry’s replacement alone is unlikely to change the council’s current pro-business leanings, said Bob Wilson, a former city mayor.

“There’s a strong 3-1 split right now and one more person would not change that either way,” Wilson said.