By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern
Old-timers wanting to reminisce the changes that have taken place in their city, young minds eager to learn more about the history of their surroundings and Long Beach die-hards all had a place to quench their historically driven desires on June 25 at 7pm. The evening marked the first night of the Historical Society of Long Beach’s (HSLB) Mayors Oral History Series.
The series features live interviews with five of Long Beach’s living mayors. First on the list was Tom Clark, who served from 1975 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1984. For approximately an hour and a half, District Eight Councilwoman Rae Gabelich interviewed Clark.
Questions stretched from Clark’s earliest days in San Diego, where the public servant was born, to the lasting legacy of his days in office.
Gabelich’s politically driven questions did not come until later in the interview. The declining role and investment in Long Beach’s downtown was one topic discussed in greater detail. “It was where people shopped,” Clark said. t ceased to be because of competition.” Clark then described the development of other suburban shopping centers, such as Lakewood Mall.
“You are always going to find more money invested in that area,” Clark said, regarding the disparity between the amounts of investment in Long Beach’s neighborhoods versus downtown.
Clark and Gabelich broke up the heavyweight topics with lighthearted questions too. At one point, the former mayor was asked what got him interested in optometry (Clark worked as a successful optometrist). Wearing a pair of spectacles at that moment, Clark said, “Well, I wore glasses.”
Before opening the interview to the audience, the former mayor and eight-time Fourth District councilman had a chance to share what were phrased as “words of wisdom.” Clark described the structure of city government and stressed how most of the power lies in the city council and city manager. He said the mayor gets stretched too thin.
Questions were then opened to the audience. One person asked Clark to identify a mistake he had made during his tenure. In response, Clark said there were times when he made decisions with the most pertinent information he had at the time and would later want to reverse his decision based on more up-to-date information.
Other controversial topics included Clark’s role in civil rights, “cracker box” apartments (for which design and development requirements were reduced) and the influence of particular law firms over Clark’s days in office. “The problem is we need to educate the minorities,” Clark said.
Next on the list was Eunice Sato, who served as mayor from 1980 to 1982. Doris Topsy-Elvord interviewed Sato on July 2. (See the July 10 issue and website post for coverage of that interview.)
Admission to the Mayors Oral History Series events is $10 at the door for non-HSLB members. Students and HSLB members will be admitted for free. The Historical Society of Long Beach is located at 4260 Atlantic Avenue.
More Information
www.historicalsocietylb.org
