The 1990s were one of the most turbulent times in Long Beach history: The Navy base was closing. Boeing was downsizing. The oil industry was declining.
The airport was losing airlines. A recession was stifling development. And Disney and Mickey Mouse pulled out of a possible theme park in the city.
To make matters worse, the decade started in 1992 in Los Angeles with the Rodney King riots, which spilled over into Long Beach — causing fires and other destruction.
“This was one of the most transitional decades in the city’s history,” said Jeff Kellogg, who was a council member from 1988 to 2000. “Nothing was easy. Everything was changing. It was a turbulent time.”
But there were some bright spots: The Convention & Entertainment Center began a major expansion. The Aquarium of the Pacific opened and gave a positive jolt to the waterfront and downtown. And the “Three T’s” — trade, tourism and technology – were born with the election of Beverly O’Neill as mayor.
Meeting at Kennedy’s Craft Kitchen in Long Beach on Feb. 10 were OWLS members and other community leaders: Top row from left, Dan Pressburg, Mike Donelon, Dan Gooch, Jeff Adler, Doug Drummond, Jerry Shultz, Evan Braude; and bottom row from left, Jeff Kellogg, Jan Hall, Alex Bellehumeur, Doug Otto, Press-Telegram columnist Rich Archbold holding a bag with the OWLS logo, Alan Lowenthal, Dick Gaylord. (Courtesy of OWLS)
The logo for the OWLS, which stands for “Older, Wiser, Leaner and Seniors.” Members of this informal club served Long Beach in various official capacities in the late 1900s. (Courtesy of OWLS)
Meeting at Kennedy’s Craft Kitchen in Long Beach on Tuesday, Feb. 10, were OWLS members and other community leaders: from left, Alex Bellehumeur, Doug Drummond, Rich Archbold, Dan Pressburg, Mike Donelon, Jeff Adler, Dick Gaylord and Bonnie Lowenthal. (Courtesy of OWLS)
Meeting at Kennedy’s Craft Kitchen in Long Beach on Tuesday, Feb. 10, were OWLS members and other community leaders: from left, Jerry Shultz, Alan Lowenthal, Dan Gooch, Jeff Kellogg and Doug Otto. (Courtesy of OWLS)
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Meeting at Kennedy’s Craft Kitchen in Long Beach on Feb. 10 were OWLS members and other community leaders: Top row from left, Dan Pressburg, Mike Donelon, Dan Gooch, Jeff Adler, Doug Drummond, Jerry Shultz, Evan Braude; and bottom row from left, Jeff Kellogg, Jan Hall, Alex Bellehumeur, Doug Otto, Press-Telegram columnist Rich Archbold holding a bag with the OWLS logo, Alan Lowenthal, Dick Gaylord. (Courtesy of OWLS)
The city ultimately rebounded – and a group of Long Beach leaders was instrumental in that recovery.
The group became known unofficially as the OWLS, which stands for older, wiser, leaner and seniors.
Kellogg became the de facto organizer of the OWLS, whose name got started years ago when people would ask about a former council member and the response often was, “WHO is that?” — mimicking the sound owls make.
That led to the formation of an informal club with the OWLS name so members from that period would not be forgotten. They even have a logo that includes owl eyes in the design.
Members of the group met at Kennedy’s Craft Kitchen, on Long Beach’s east side, on Tuesday, Feb.10, to reminisce about their days serving the city during the 1980s and 1990s. Along with Kellogg were former Councilmembers Doug Drummond, Jerry Shultz, Mike Donelon, Alan Lowenthal (who is also a former congressman), Evan Braude, Bonnie Lowenthal and Jan Hall.
Unable to attend were O’Neill, Les Robbins, Frank Colonna, Delano Roosevelt, Jackie Kell and former City Manager Jim Hankla.
Deceased members from that period include Tom Clark, Ernie Kell, Doris Topsy-Elford, Ray Grabinski, Clarence Smith, Jenny Oropeza, Wally Edgerton and Warren Harwood.
Also present during the gathering were community leaders Dan Gooch, Jeff Adler, Alec Bellehumeur, Dick Gaylord, Dan Pressburg and Doug Otto.
“How time has softened our image,” Kellogg said. “During that decade, councils were notorious for a well-earned reputation for long and heated debates. We had so many issues and no money, so things were always testy, but we had a common goal of making Long Beach better.”
Kellogg complimented Hankla for helping council members work together.
He also credited Hankla with coming up with the Three-T strategy that guided the city during the 1990s — and included the construction of the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Hankla was city manager from 1987 to 1998 and then took over as CEO of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, which improved railroad connections between the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the transcontinental rail hub 20 miles to the east.
Hankla has been struggling with post-polio health issues from his childhood and could not make the meeting. But in a phone interview, Hankla wished everyone well and said he hoped to make the next OWLS meeting. He complimented members for their work to improve the city.
“I was blessed working with good people,” he said.
Alan Lowenthal, who was on the council from 1992 to 1998 before serving in the California Assembly and Congress, said it was great to see old friends.
“I just enjoy being with people who were part of my development in public office,” he said.
“I had just been elected but before I even got sworn in, my district was on fire because of the Rodney King riots,” Lowenthal said. “There was such fear in the city. It was a sheer disaster. I was just beginning on the council, and I wondered, ‘What am I getting into?’ ”
Lowenthal said he and his fellow council members worked together during that difficult period.
“I’m happy with what we achieved,” he said.
He gave special attention to the council’s work to improve neighborhoods that had deteriorated because of higher density cracker-box apartments.
Lowenthal, 84, said he is keeping busy now by watching his grandkids, dealing with early Parkinson’s disease, helping raise money for the 2028 Olympics and other community activities.
“I love this city and what we have built over the years,” he said.
Each member of the OWLS has fond memories of his or her time on the council and, during the Tuesday meeting, talked about achievements.
Donelon, who served on the council from 1994 to 1998, said loving kids and finding places for them to skateboard were his passion. He spearheaded a skateboard revolution, which started with a skateboard park in El Dorado Park and continued with others scattered around the city.
Drummond, a former Long Beach police officer who was on the council from 1990 to 1998, was proud of improving relations with the Long Beach Police Department, the aquarium opening, and fixing potholes and making other street improvements.
When OWLS members were asked if they would ever run for political office again, Drummond joked: “I’m not running for anything. I’m running away from everything.”
Shultz, a retired L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputy and council member from 1994 to 2002, said he was proud of creating the memorial in Houghton Park, in North Long Beach,honoring men and women who died during the Vietnam War — of which Shultz is a veteran. He’s also proud of starting the city’s Veterans Day Parade in 1996 and a Neighborhood Watch program.
Shultz said he is recovering from prostate cancer but is still working on the watch program and his memoirs dealing with his nine years in Vietnam.
“My time with the council was challenging but rewarding,” he said.
Braude, an attorney who was on the council from 1986 to 1994, said he was proud of his work in improving relations for and with the gay community, which had been struggling with discrimination issues for years. Another achievement, he said, was working to ban smoking in public places.
“I want to continue to do positive things for the city, working together with others,” he said, “unlike what’s happening with the federal government in Washington.”