The Office Holder Records Collection documents the activities of the Mayor and City Council offices of the Long Beach Municipal Government from 1994 through 2014. The collection is made from a combination of donations from the private offices of city officials as well as materials returned from the City after the redaction of sensitive information. The redacted items have been filed with the office holder’s records to rebuild the original organization of the office holder. Materials relate to internal issues in government offices as well as citywide issues, including the Port of Long Beach, the United States Naval Station, Naval Hospital, and Naval Complex, Alameda Corridor, San Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers, League of California Cities, and the United States Conference of Mayors.

The Office Holder Records Collection documents the activities and issues affecting various offices of Long Beach City government. The collection includes papers from the office of Tonia Reyes Uranga (City Council, 7th District, 2002-2010), James Johnson (City Council, 7th District, 2010-2014), Robert “Bob” Foster (Mayor, 2006-2014), and Beverly O’Neill (Mayor, 1994-2006). In addition to her work with the Long Beach City Council, Tonia Reyes Uranga (born 1954) has been a member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board, the League of California Cities Latino Caucus, and is owner of Tonia Reyes Uranga Consulting (TRUConsult). She has spent many years working with workforce and employment issues in the cities of Long Beach and Orange, was Executive Director for the Miguel Contreras Foundation, and has served on Board of Directors and committees to many groups. James Johnson (born 1978), a Long Beach native, spent only one term on the Long Beach City Council. Prior to the City Council, Johnson served as Assistant City Auditor. After his seat on the Council he went on to be an adjunct professor of law at California State University Long Beach, an attorney with the Los Angels County Office of the County Counsel, and as general counsel for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. Robert “Bob” Foster (born 1947) served two terms as mayor following the three-term run of Beverly O’Neill. Foster began his career in public service with the California State Senate and California Energy Commission. He worked for Southern California Edison for more than 20 years, serving as President from 2002 through 2006. Foster was on the Board of Trustees for the California State University system from 1998 through 2006. Beverly O’Neill (born 1930) was raised in Long Beach, and attended school all the way through her undergraduate work in Long Beach. After achieving a doctorate in Vienna, she returned to Long Beach to have a three-decade career moving up the ranks of the staff at Long Beach City College, spending the last few years of her time there as Superintendent-President. O’Neill served three terms as mayor, from 1994 through 2006, in Long Beach. Her third term, as a write-in candidate, made her the only mayor to achieve this honor in the nation. During her third term, Mayor O’Neill served as the 63rd President of the United States Conference of Mayors (2005-2006).

22 boxes 19 linear feet

Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director of Historical Society of Long Beach. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Historical Society of Long Beach as the owner of the physical materials, and does not include permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

There are no access restrictions on this collection.