Harby was noted for casting a 1951 swing vote that killed a $100 million proposal to build a massive public-housing project in the city as well as for his opposition to modern art and music.

[2] Harby was a materials and supply executive for Richfield in 1939 when he defeated incumbent Robert S. MacAlister in Los Angeles City Council District 11, which at that time included the West Adams and Venice areas.

[6] Harby explained his reason by saying: I find upon further investigation that much of this proposed housing ... is not essentially a slum clearance project and buildings will be built on heretofore unoccupied territory.

[6]Although he said his mail ran 10 to 1 in favor of his stand, he also displayed a letter containing a death threat, and his Halm Avenue home was "invaded" by protestors and picketed.

"[11] He also was the principal opponent to a statuary group by sculptor Bernard Rosenthal that had been designed for the new Police Building across Main Street from the City Hall.

He suggested that the "14-foot, 1000-pound brass-and-bronze statue be consigned to a smelter and its metal salvaged for a tablet memorializing policemen who have given their lives in service to the community."

The statue in question represented "a father, young boy, mother and a babe in arms expressing the idea that the Police Department is dedicated to the protection of the family.

"[12]In a letter to the Los Angeles Times, Harby praised the artistry of singer Jeanette MacDonald and attacked modern music, which he called "gibberish" that "to me and millions of others is nothing but the echo of the drums of darkest Africa.

In December 1947, Harby authored a successful resolution in the Council asking Congress to "keep the female World War II Jap propagandist Tokyo Rose out of America."

In October 1952, Harby joined a group of people supporting a House Committee on Un-American Activities probe into Communist sympathies among Los Angeles attorneys.