In a 3–2 vote at its March 4 meeting, the Fernley City Council voted to permanently expel Councilman Stan Lau.
The council adopted Resolution 26-002, which states that an independent outside investigation determined Lau violated the City of Fernley’s Personnel Policies and Procedures Fair Employment Practices and that such conduct constitutes grounds for permanent expulsion pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes 266.240.
The resolution also declares the seat formerly held by Lau vacant as of March 4, 2026. The vacancy will be filled in accordance with NRS 266.225, including applicable appointment or special election requirements.
Nevada Revised Statute 266.240 states: “The city council shall determine its own rules of procedure, may punish its members for disorderly conduct, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of the city council, may expel a member for cause.”
The investigation was based on outbursts by Lau during budget hearings on April 3 and May 8 of last year.
In the April 3 incident, Lau yelled at Councilwoman Felicity Zoberski during a discussion and told Mayor Neal McIntyre to “shut up” when the mayor tried to intervene. In the May 8 incident, during a discussion after Councilman Albert Torres asked for an item on the next agenda not to fund the city manager position, Lau told Torres to “shut up” and at one point stood up while facing Torres. When Torres said, “Don’t talk to me like that,” Lau responded, “I’ll talk to you any way I want.”
In his opening remarks introducing the item for discussion Wednesday, Torres said Lau “threatened to kick my ass” during that May 8 meeting.
Lau said he had asked Torres to go outside to talk, not to fight.
“We all have that in the report that all I said was ‘Let’s go outside,’ and all I meant was let’s go out and talk,” Lau said. “None of us up here communicate like we used to, and I think that’s an issue.”
At the beginning of the discussion, City Attorney Aaron Mouritsen told the council it had the authority to consider actions ranging from censure to permanent removal. He said the hearing was also Lau’s opportunity to respond and present evidence.
When reached for comment after the meeting, Lau said he was not ready to make any statements and did not say whether he intends to contest his expulsion. During the hearing, however, Lau repeatedly apologized and raised several objections to the process.
He began by apologizing for his behavior in both meetings cited in the investigation, saying his passion got the better of him. He said he had apologized publicly and privately to Torres on May 28 and believed the two had agreed to “bury the hatchet.”
“I’m hoping that the city of Fernley, we can move past this, and we can move forward,” Lau said.
Lau continued to apologize throughout the meeting but also raised several procedural objections. He argued he had not been properly notified because he did not receive notice that his character, conduct and competence would be discussed. He also said the agenda item did not clearly state that permanent removal was being considered and argued he had already been censured in September for the same incidents, calling the new action double jeopardy.
Attempting to demonstrate that he did not threaten Torres, Lau played a recording from the May 8 meeting before again apologizing to city staff, the council and Torres.
“I was very unprofessional and I take completely full responsibility for my actions, and I apologize for that,” he said.
Councilman Ryan Hanan argued Lau was being held to a different standard than the rest of the council. He requested to play a recording from the Sept. 17 meeting when the council voted to censure Lau. Mouritsen said it is up to the mayor to determine what is relevant to the topic.
During its vote at the beginning of the meeting to adopt the agenda, the council voted 3–2 to remove an item that would have discussed the character, competence and conduct of Torres stemming from a separate independent investigation.
“So if this has anything to do with me, it needs to be readdressed in a different venue or a different time and be agendized,” Torres said. “This is strictly supposed to be discussing the actions of Councilman Lau.”
McIntyre said he did not believe the recording or transcript Hanan was attempting to discuss was relevant because it involved other council members and not just Lau.
“We are holding someone to a standard that we’re not holding the other folks to, and I can absolutely use that in my rebuttal testimony against the censure hearing of Councilman Lau,” Hanan argued.
McIntyre again denied Hanan’s request.
Zoberski asked whether the investigation conducted by POOL/PACT, the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool, substantiated the allegations against Lau. When Mouritsen said it did, Zoberski asked if he could give a brief summary.
Mouritsen said a summary could be provided during a legal brief but said it was up to the council whether to discuss information shared in that setting.
“But I’m not going to disclose what occurred in that legal brief or any documents related to that legal brief,” he said.
Mouritsen said both documents are confidential because they relate to personnel matters.
However, the report involving Torres was included in the minutes of Wednesday’s meeting by Torres and Hanan. Mouritsen said the city clerk expected the minutes to be completed Friday and made available to the public.
Hanan said he reviewed the investigation and believes a censure allowed by law would be sufficient in Lau’s case. However, he said he is not aware of a body that has permanently removed an elected official.
He referred to the case of former Councilman Dan McCassie, who moved out of his ward and whom the council was unable to remove.
“My understanding of Nevada state law is that we are duly elected by the representatives in our ward, and those people, and only those people, can put us here and remove us,” Hanan said.
In McCassie’s case, Third Judicial District Court Judge John Schlegelmilch ruled that McCassie must resign.
In 2013, Assemblyman Steven Brooks was expelled from the Nevada Assembly. Prior to his expulsion, Brooks had been arrested twice, first after Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick said he threatened her, and later on a domestic battery charge.
Hanan said he believes that if Lau were removed by the council, he could file a lawsuit that would cause the city serious financial harm and the court would likely reinstate him until the case was decided.
“We removed him from the committees he was on, and like I said, I didn’t vote at the time, but I would have voted tonight to remove him from committees, because what he’s done is an embarrassment to the city,” Hanan said.
Hanan again attempted to reference the investigation into Torres to argue the council was applying different standards, but McIntyre said that was not part of the agenda item.
Before the council voted, Mouritsen addressed several issues raised by Lau. He said the city sent notification of the hearing by certified mail Feb. 5. Mouritsen said NRS requires the notice to be sent, not necessarily received. He also said there was no Open Meeting Law violation because the agenda clearly described the item and the notice sent to Lau included potential actions related to expulsion. Expulsion was also listed on the agenda for the Feb. 4 meeting before the item was continued to March 4.
Councilman Joe Mendoza thanked Lau for his apologies and asked him to resign.
“Accountability is not just apologizing, but doing what’s right,” Mendoza said. “I just want to offer that before we move any further and ask if you’d be willing to resign from your position, step down for the duration of your term.”
Lau instead said he objected to the action as an elected councilman, arguing that exclusion from council meetings infringes on the rights of his constituents and raises due process and Open Meeting Law concerns.
“I request that my objection be entered into the minutes, and no, I will not resign,” Lau said.
After Lau apologized a final time, the council voted 3–2 to approve Mendoza’s motion to adopt the resolution expelling Lau from the council.
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