Hermosa Beach councilman Hany Fangary resigns, following contentious relationship with colleagues
Councilman Hany Fangary in 2014, when he joined fellow councilmembers in opposing oil drilling in Hermosa Beach. Easy Reader file photo
[Updated Jan. 4, 2020]
Hany Fangary, an outspoken, two-term Hermosa Beach city council member, announced his resignation from the council in a Christmas Eve letter to fellow council members. The letter explains he and his family are moving from the Hermosa Beach Strand to neighboring Manhattan Beach. State law requires council members to live in the city they represent.
In a lengthy email to Easy Reader and subsequent interviews Fangary said his former council colleagues “have become essentially useless” and compared them to “the ashtrays on an airplane.”
He faulted the council’s “willingness” to allow city staff to make decisions he believes elected leaders should be making.
Fangary said rulings by City Attorney Michael Jenkins are making this possible: “It appears that council taking input from staff and from our community and making the right decisions for our stakeholders is now in our rear-view mirror,” he wrote. “Apparently, according to our city attorney, that is not our job anymore. Our job is to receive a verbal update from staff, provide our comments and concerns to staff, and then staff takes the actions that staff — not council — deem appropriate.”
Fangary criticized City Manager Suja Lowenthal for following Jenkins’ lead. Lowenthal is a former Long Beach City Council member and former senior advisor to the city manager of Santa Monica. She was named Hermosa’s city manager in September 2019.
“What is the point of attending city council meetings or providing any meaningful input, because decisions are currently made by staff, irrespective of the council members’ opinions or concerns,” Fangary stated. He said Mayor Justin Massey, Mary Campbell and Stacey Armato “will never question the city attorney or city manager’s direction. It is a lost cause for our city.”
Fangary characterized the city as having a “strong manager, weak council” form of government. “It is really puzzling how this is acceptable to other council members, but it is not acceptable to me.”
Fangary never demonstrated reluctance to offer differing opinions on positions taken by his council peers. As a result, he was passed over for the mayor’s position in November 2019, an action which culminated in a Fangary lawsuit against the city.
Fangary’s resignation will not render the lawsuit moot, he noted.
“My resignation will have no impact on the pending litigation. The litigation is primarily directed to the city’s breaches of the Brown Act, which have continued unabated for the past year, including the last city council meeting on Dec. 8,” Fangary wrote.
This past November, he was denied the mayor’s spot a second time. Massey was elected to the honorary mayor’s position, and councilman Michael Detoy was named mayor pro tem.
Fangary served for seven years. His term expires November 2022. His resignation takes effect the day Jan. 4. The council will discuss the vacancy at its next meeting, according to a release from the city’s public relations spokesperson, Laura Mecoy. State law allows the council to either name a replacement, or schedule a special election, within 60 days.
Repeated efforts to reach Mayor Massey for comment on Fangary’s assertions were unsuccessful. Instead, the mayor, Armato and Campbell issued the following statements in a Wednesday email from Mecoy to Easy Reader.
Mayor Justin Massey: “As council member Fangary moves on, I am focused on celebrating his contributions to Hermosa Beach. To the extent they merit a response, the slights he perceives are imagined, and I expect the outcome of his lawsuit will reflect that fact.”
Council member Stacey Armato: “It’s a shame that Hany has personalized this situation and reacted in such an extreme way. Someone aspiring to serve in a leadership position on the council must have a workable relationship with senior staff. Hany’s refusal to resolve the issue had inevitable consequences. It is regrettable that Hany created this conflict and left it unresolved. I wish him and his family well in Manhattan Beach.”
Council member Mary Campbell: “It would be irresponsible for the city council to appoint a mayor or mayor pro tem who refuses to communicate and interact directly with the city manager. Over several months, all that we asked was that Hany be willing to resolve a conflict. Unfortunately, that did not happen.” ER