Harhay, councilman for Boulder City, dies at 76
‘He was just fearless about attacking issues’
Warrenharhay,abouldercity councilman since 2017, died Tuesday night. He was 76.
Thecityreleasedastatementabout Harhay on Wednesday, calling him a “dedicated, steadfast” council member.
“Hewasanhonorable man who listened to his constituents and voted in the best interest of the community as a whole,” the statement said.
His cause of death was not clear, but city spokeswoman Lisa Laplante said it was not suspicious. Harhay had been hospitalized forseveralmonths,shesaid.
Harhay’s wife of 52 years, Marcia, said she thinks her husband died of heart failure, but did not ask.
In a Facebook post on May 8, Harhay wrote that he had been in and out of hospitals since suffering a fractured vertebra in March.
“Rather than improving, my condition has not been moving forward as it should,” he wrote. According to an earlier post, he suffered the injury when he fell from a chair in his garage.
Marcia Harhay said her husband had health issues that predated the injury, including diabetes and a heart attack that required surgery. His kidneys later failed, and he had beenondialysisforyears,shesaid. The issues never stopped him from attending council meetings until he fell, she said.
Harhaywasfirstelectedtothe council in 2017 at age 73 as a political newcomer.
“I’m flabbergasted by the results because I know I have spent the least of all the candidates on my candidacy,” he told the Las Vegas Review-journal on election day in June 2017. “I haven’t done anything the professionalssaytodotowin,butistucktomy guns, and it looks like it’s paying off.”
This year, Harhay unsuccessfully ranformayorofbouldercitybut remained on the council.
Mayorkiernanmcmanussaid
Harhaywasapleasuretoworkwith. He described Harhay as a man of excellentcharacterwhoworkedon behalf of the citizens.
“I always found him to be open to listening to the constituents, and hetriedtodowhatwasintheirbest interests,” Mcmanus said.
Former Councilwoman Peggy Leavitt considered Harhay a close friend. She described him as a devoted family man and and passionate councilmember.harhayconsidered it the best job he ever had, she said.
“And he said it many times because he was just fearless about attacking issues and getting into issues and really examining them,” Leavitt said Wednesday.
And Harhay was quick-witted and didn’t mind poking fun at himself, she said.
Leavitt said he researched every issue,providedanindependentvoice on the council and made thoughtfuldecisions.harhaywasamanof integrity, she said.
“He was just an extraordinary man. He was just brilliant, and I don’t use that word lightly,” Leavitt said.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter. Review-journal staff writer Glenn Puit contributed to this story.