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Davis, Don P. (audio interview #2 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of two interviews that were conducted in Davis' home. 5/26/1982
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- 2020-10-14
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- SUBJECT BIO - Don P. Davis served on the Long Beach Civil Service Commission longer than any other person. He grew up and went to school in Long Beach where he began his interest in politics and local elections. After serving in the military during World War II, he returned to town and continued his interest in politics. This led to his appointment to the Civil Service Commission. There he opposed term limits on commissioners proposed by a reform commission and managed to get reappointed before the term limits went into effect. He also opposed use of gender neutral titles for city employees. In these two interviews, he talks about his experiences growing up in Long Beach, his wife's work during World War II arranging the christening of locally built ships and his work in advertising after the war. This interview was conducted as part of a project to study the impact of oil on Long Beach. TOPICS - billboards; Norm Barker; Young Republicans; cross-filing; Carley Porter; elections; term limits; and Carol McOwen;Carol McOwen; Long Beach Civil Service Commission; term limits; and Long Beach City Council;Long Beach Civil Service Commission; labor unions; City Managers; term limits; and redevelopment of downtown Long Beach;
- *** File: cbdpdavis3.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:54)... While employed in public relations at Foster & Kleiser, Davis worked with city agencies on the use of billboards for public advertising. Certain groups in the city did not like outdoor advertising because it ruined the look of the city. Public relations also handled the public advertising for political candidates seeking political offices. Billboards were the least expensive advertising tool available to politicians. In addition to Long Beach, Foster & Kleiser ran advertising campaigns in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and various other cities. Through his political contacts, Davis was invited to conventions, including the League of California Cities. (3:54-8:05)... Davis and his friends were involved in the 1938 congressional campaign of Norm Barker. They worked to convince people to register as Democrats. Davis was the first president of the Young Republicans and they were active during the presidential campaign of Wendell Willkie in 1940. The members of the Young Republicans were "awful young." Davis was the oldest member at 30, which he believes was the main reason he was elected president of the group. (8:05-12:45)... After the war, the electoral process was modified in California so that soldiers returning home could vote in primary elections. Davis believes this was a mistake because it was more costly to hold elections in June than in August and November. This was the last year of cross-filing in California. His friend, Carley Porter, was one of the last politicians to be nominated in both parties in California. People who opposed dismantling the system of cross-filing argued that politicians would become beholden to political parties. Davis believes there were no problems with gerrymandering when cross-filing was part of the California electoral process. (12:45-21:03)... Davis had no desire to run for city office. He feels that people who work in politics realize that being a politician is a "miserable" job that monopolizes ones time. When he returned from the military, he worked on council campaigns. Davis goes into detail regarding the development of the City Council and the changes that have occurred in both the operation of the City Council and partisan politics in Long Beach. He specifically discusses council members Ed Tuttle, Russ Rubley, Jan Hall, and Ernie Kell. (21:03-24:59)... Davis believes that the Press-Telegram proved ineffective in district politics. Their main motivation was selling newspapers and as long as businesses do well in the city, their paper will do well. Davis discusses Tom Clark's battles with the Press-Telegram. (24:59-30:23)... Davis dislikes politicians who slough their problems off on a city task force such as a Blue Ribbon Committee. He believes that a lot of malcontents serve on Blue Ribbon Committees, mainly members of the LWV. He believed, at the time of the interview, that LWV had lost its effectiveness because it became a lobbying group. He specifically discusses his distaste for Carol McOwen, a former president of the LWV and first woman on the Long Beach Civil Service Commission. He describes her as the "worst women libbers that I have ever seen in my life." McOwen disagreed with everything Davis said because he used gender-specific terms when he spoke. End of tape. *** File: cbdpdavis4.mp3 (0:00-1:19)... Davis did not believe in using unisex language while Carol McOwen, who served on the city's Civil Service Commission with him, refused to accept any word with "man" in it. That was the basis of his distaste for her. (1:19-9:49)... Davis was appointed to the Civil Service Commission in 1957. He served 3 terms, leaving office in 1981. During his second term, 4 members of the Civil Service Committee of City Council, which was responsible for appointing members to the Civil Service Commission, tried to get rid of Davis and institute a 2 term limit. Finally, however, Davis secured a third term. (9:49-14:55)... By the time Davis left the Civil Service Commission in 1981, the mayor had become responsible for appointing members to the commission. There were attempts change the rate of pay commission members received for their service. Members received $10 per meeting for a maximum of 5 meetings per month. They were not paid for additional meetings that were held during the month. (14:55-27:16)... The Civil Service Commission was made up of 5 members. The commission's role entails working with department heads and establishing examinations based on personnel needs and job descriptions. Once examinations are taken, the commission creates a short list of applicants and the department head chooses the person they want to hire. The commission has the power to hire and fire employees. The cases of terminated city employees who want to appeal their termination come before the commission. There were 2 incidences when the commission denied termination appeals and the cases were later appealed to the US Supreme Court. (27:16-29:38)... Davis worked with many other members on the Civil Service Commission and City Council members during his terms on the commission. End of tape. *** File: cbdpdavis5.mp3 (0:00-2:22)... Brief Introduction Davis continues his discussion of serving on the Civil Service Commission and on the members of the City Council while he served with the commission. There was at least one union representative on the commission. (2:22-7:16)... Davis was chairman of the Civil Service Commission on 5 or 6 occasions because the post was constantly rotating among other members of the commission. He believes that a benefit of a 6 year term limit in the commission was that it created continuity in the organization. The people who wanted to change this system wanted to achieve a complete turnover in the 3 major city commissions and in the City Council. When a task force came into evaluate the commissions, it recommended that the City Council establish term limits for the 3 commissions. They recommended 6 year terms for Harbor Commissioners, 5 year terms for Water Commissioners and 5 year terms for Civil Service Commissioners. The task force recommended other changes that they called "minor," but Davis and others viewed these, such as the ability to recall city managers, as major changes. (7:16-14:24)... Davis worked under 5 city managers while he was with the Civil Service Commission. Sam Vickers was the first city manager he worked with. Subsidence was an important issues during Vickers' term. He also served with John Mansell, Bob Creighton, and Tom Clark. (14:24-20:13)... He believes that the problems that arise in appointing city commissioners are a typical component of government. Whenever taxpayers start "cracking" down on the government, the government makes it more difficult for taxpayers. He uses the example of the 1947 firing of custom officers and supervisors. A few days later, the Queen Mary hired more than 2,000 employees. He believes there are more city employees since Proposition 13, but the funding for these employees comes from parking citations and city maintenance, among other things. (20:13-24:09)... There was a proposal to build a Civic Center in Bixby Knolls during the 1950s. The argument for placing the center in Bixby Knolls was based on the 1950 census that showed the majority of the Long Beach population no longer lived in downtown Long Beach. (24:09-29:44)... Davis comments on the deterioration and redevelopment of downtown Long Beach. He feels that one of the problems with redevelopment is the city's poor timing after it condemns a building. This gives people the time to fight the demolition of buildings and redevelopment is delayed. He thinks that rather than senior citizens, the only type of people who will be displaced because of redevelopment are "drunks" who live downtown because the rent is inexpensive. Overall, at the time of the interview he thinks that the area is shaping up and will have a successful future. End of tape
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