Long Beach Rebounding Strongly, Mayor Says

Los Angeles/Long Beach was ranked in the top 10% of America’s most livable cities by one national magazine last year, but things are on such an upswing in Long Beach that Mayor Beverly O’Neill said Tuesday her city might have done better alone.

“With all due respect to our friends in Los Angeles, I firmly believe that Long Beach by itself would have ranked higher,” O’Neill said in her state of the city speech, much to the delight of the nearly 1,400 business and civic leaders who packed the grand ballroom of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

The business leaders haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years.

As O’Neill noted, Long Beach in 1997 “said goodbye to institutions that, over the past decades, literally shaped this city.” She mentioned the Navy, which closed its shipyard; aerospace giant McDonnell Douglas, which was taken over by Boeing; and Knight-Ridder, the newspaper chain that sold the Press-Telegram to the MediaNews Group.

But O’Neill said the city is rebounding nicely, with 20 multimillion-dollar investment projects underway, representing nearly $3 billion in public and private investment.

Noting that unemployment in the city is down to 5.6%, which she said was the lowest level since mid-1990, O’Neill said Long Beach is experiencing growth in international trade, expanding tourism, revitalized retailing and a developing manufacturing and technology sector.

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Tuesday’s gathering was sponsored by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and the speech was clearly designed to pump up the business community by the person many consider the city’s No. 1 cheerleader.

“These are good times for Long Beach,” declared chamber President Randy Gordon, saying he agreed with the upbeat tone of the mayor’s speech.

“She gave us a real inspiring vision of what’s to come,” City Councilwoman Jenny Oropeza said.

“It was just like Beverly--everything’s upbeat and positive and looking good for Long Beach,” said Councilman Jeff Kellogg. “Beverly always brings a smile to your face.”

O’Neill is campaigning for reelection to a second four-year term in the April primary. So far, seven other candidates have taken out nomination papers.