Amy Howorth

Former Mayor Amy Howorth has over 16 years of experience as an elected official and uses that experience to help Councils and Boards with governance and leadership training. Amy knows firsthand the challenges that face elected officials; the (necessary) constraints of the Brown Act; the pitfalls of social media; the constant public attention and pressure; and the political infighting that can lead to dysfunction.

Amy Howorth is a community-oriented governance and organizational development professional with demonstrated abilities in executive hiring and evaluation, budgeting, facilities improvement, regional relationship building, and community engagement. She is skilled in Governmental Affairs, Consensus Building, Public Relations, Media, and Public Speaking.  She understands the critical relationship between elected and appointed officials and is an expert at facilitating change within an organization.

Amy helps Councils and Boards better understand their unique and powerful role and guides them through the creation of team norms and work styles. Her deep knowledge of government allows her to bring together appointed and elected officials to align their goals, skills, and values to get more done for their constituents.  Through her unique blend of humor and knowledge of local government, she helps teams get through conflict and build trust. She is passionate about developing leaders and loves coaching new council members. During her tenures for City Council and School Board, she hired two City Managers and two Superintendents.

She was elected twice to the Manhattan Beach School Board, and three times to the City Council.   She has served on the Los Angeles County Commission on Children and Families and is a current Los Angeles County Commissioner on the Committee for Women.  Amy also has deep strategic political campaign experience, having been a key team member of five successful local bond, parcel, and utility tax measures, including her participation in the successful Los Angeles County Measure M campaign, the nation’s largest infrastructure bond ever passed. 

Amy worked hard to improve public facilities in Manhattan Beach.  She was a crucial team member on the rehabilitation of the Roundhouse Aquarium, the opening of the new Manhattan Beach Library, and an entirely new Manhattan Beach Skate Park. She initiated the Joint Use Agreement between the School District and the City for shared use fields and facilities. In addition, Amy led efforts on new environmental policies; a smoking ban in all public places; implementation of a city-wide food waste recycling program; and was an early member of the Clean Power Alliance of Southern California.  She is very proud to have been featured speaking out against hate and prejudice in the film “Not in Our Town, Manhattan Beach.