By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern
She occupied the city’s leading office for a dozen years from 1994 to 2006 and is commonly credited with guiding Long Beach through an identity crisis. The Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB) continued its Long Beach Mayors Oral History Series on Thursday, July 30 with Former Mayor Beverly O’Neill as interviewee and former state Assemblywoman and Senator Betty Karnette as interviewer.
O’Neill, a Long Beach native who was born at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, known at the time as Seaside Hospital, said she liked being mayor because she could preserve the things that influenced her. Yet, as Karnette delved into O’Neill’s past, the former mayor’s terms involved more transition than preservation.
“We were a defense town,” O’Neill said, regarding Long Beach’s previous identity. When O’Neill took office, Long Beach had a naval shipyard, a massive port, and a McDonnell Douglas facility, which is credited with the production of airplanes like the B-17 and the C-47.
But in 1997 the naval bases closed, and Long Beach had to start to redefine itself as a city. By focusing on trade, technology, and tourism, O’Neill said she made an effort to diversify Long Beach’s economy.
However, even though the naval shipyard closed down, O’Neill said the port remained a powerful player in the economy. She said that during her stay in office it created one third of the jobs in the area, providing 300,000 positions for the region.
After the shipyard shut down, O’Neill said it took four years of “back and forth” between Long Beach and Washington D.C. dealing with the Navy to figure out how the property would be used. Apparently, the Navy had to accept the reuse plans. “That is what is so amazing. You were a consensus builder,” Karnette commented.
Among the many uses of the land were the construction of Cabrillo High School, the opening of the Job Corps Center, the establishment of transitional housing for the homeless, and the building of a daycare center. Developments outside of the naval property during the former mayor’s term include the Long Beach Towne Center, The Aquarium of the Pacific, and the arrival of Carnival Cruises, to name a few.
All of the developing changes have been credited as diversifying Long Beach’s economy.
The former president of Long Beach City College (LBCC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors also described her philosophy of addressing issues as a public servant.
O’Neill especially stressed the nature of coming to a decision that everybody can agree on. “When you work in a community you have to involve other people,” she said. According to O’Neill, decisions made in a business environment can be made unilaterally whereas decisions in a community environment must be made together as a group. In the communal setting, O’Neill said a win-win situation is best but otherwise everybody must learn how to compromise.
During her career at LBCC, O’Neill said one of her responsibilities was to oversee the caretakers for the school grounds. She said part of the staff was responsible for the sidewalk while another part was responsible for the garden and lawn. Supposedly, to one worker’s frustration, the garden workers would brush all the cigarette butts into sidewalk territory.
One day, the extremely frustrated sidewalk worker came into O’Neill’s office. With tears streaming down his face, he explained how he continually had to clean up the cigarette butts that the other workers had lazily swept onto his turf.
O’Neill said if so much time had not passed, then the problem would not have escalated to the level it did. She said the same goes for issues in the public realm.
In response to a question asked by an audience member, O’Neill urged current council members to maintain focus on the issues and not let anything become personal. “You have to work on relationships,” O’Neill said. If discourse regarding issues becomes personal, then it is unhealthy for the matter at hand, she said.
Since O’Neill had guided Long Beach through its economic identity change, Karnette acknowledged her role as an effective leader. “Well, you are going to go down in the history books. That’s for sure,” Karnette said.
Concluding the HSLB’s series will be an interview of current mayor Bob Foster by Supervisor Don Knabe on Thursday, August 6 at 7pm.
More Information
www.historicalsocietylb.org
