Signal Tribune Newspaper

Former mayor Eunice Sato, far left, was interviewed by former Long Beach councilmember and port commissioner Doris Topsy-Elvord at last week’s Historical Society event.

Photos by Cory Bilicko

By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern

In 1975, Long Beach elected its first Japanese-American city council member; five years later, the same individual would become the first woman and Asian-American mayor of Long Beach.
On Thursday, July 2, The Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB) continued its Oral History Series by interviewing Eunice Sato, the distinguished civil servant who earned those accomplishments.
Interviewing the mayor was Doris Topsy-Elvord, the first African-American woman elected to Long Beach City Council, in 1992.
Sato, whose name is the Japanese word for “sweet,” is a Livingston, California native who began her ascent through Long Beach’s political ranks when she was elected councilwoman of the seventh district. Sato was able to take advantage of a vacancy in the district because the previous councilperson had to leave because of illegal activities.
Without a lot of funds to run a campaign, Sato learned “to do a lot with a little.” Topsy-Elvord noted that Sato was able to use her reliable network of friends to offset the lack of funding. Sato had previously been involved with many community organizations and churches, such as the Red Cross, the safety council and Grace First Presbyterian Church. “I just had some flyers and a black-and-white poster, and that was about it,” Sato said. “And I walked.”
Little did Sato know that in five years she would rise to the position of mayor and serve two years guiding the development of Long Beach.
During the interview, Sato recalled Long Beach’s atmosphere during the early ‘80s. “There were drunks, prostitutes, closed-down stores, dirty sidewalks. It was the dumps. It was the worst any city could be,” she said. However, Sato also played a role in developing Long Beach and turning the city around.
Sato explained that, to resuscitate Long Beach, residents had to invest in and take care of the heart of the city, which she considered to be downtown. So, Sato sought to get the confidence of the private sector by building a mall called The Second Wind on Long Beach Boulevard. Sato said other developments installed during her tenure were the Hyatt Regency, Sheraton, and Renaissance hotels and the World Trade Center, to name a few. Sato said, regarding the development of downtown, “That would never be there if we didn’t do what we did.”
While Sato said she encouraged supporting and attracting investments for the downtown area, she also commented on the neighborhoods of Long Beach and how property maintenance can ensure they remain valuable assets too. “I think that is something that everybody can do without costing the city a lot of money,” Sato said. “Just everyone picking up their property, getting their cars off of the front lawn, the junk out of the front yard, having your lawns cut.” Sato stressed how such tactics would keep property value up for every resident.
After a question regarding Long Beach’s “white flight” and “yellow flight,” Sato recalled chilling incidents that took place in her district’s neighborhoods, such as when an elderly widow was shot in her back yard between the hours of 7am and 10am. Sato said it is because of these incidents and “the influx of the changing demographics” that Japanese-American and white residents sough out suburban residences in Orange County.
Topsy-Elvord began the interview with questions about Sato’s earliest years in Livingston, which is located south of Modesto and north of Merced on Highway 99. The future mayor was born in and spent most of her early life in the small, Central Valley town, until she attended Modesto Junior College for a few years.
Sato continued her education at San Jose State College but was interrupted by the infamous Japanese surprise attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor. “But that was right before the war. I had enrolled in September and in March I suddenly had to come home because Pearl Harbor was December 7,” Sato said. “The president at that time, Roosevelt, decided that all persons of Japanese ancestry did not matter. If you were Japanese of any sort, we were all told that you would have to be leaving California.”
An audience member asked if any of Sato’s family had served in World War II. Sato replied that her oldest brother volunteered for the military the day after Pearl Harbor and that he fought in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. “My oldest brother, bless him– he was a patriot from day one,” Sato said. Sato’s younger brother eventually joined the military too. After Sato detailed her family’s service in the war, Topsy-Elvord told her, “We are surprised you didn’t fight in the war.”
With the president’s message ringing clear, Sato took a bus to Livingston and got home on a Saturday night. Before Sunday at midnight, Sato’s father, mother, and two brothers were on the road with all their belongings packed in a two-wheel trailer. “It was the emptiest feeling that I felt. I still sense it today,” Sato said. “We had to clean out our home. We didn’t know whether we were going to ever see our home again.”
Sato said her family went to Colorado to stay with her oldest sister and brother-in-law. By the next day, the family had to leave the house to find work and their own place.
As time has proven, the obstacles Sato faced did not stop her from becoming an accomplished civil servant, which she remains today. Grace First Presbyterian Church, where Sato is an active member, fundraised and donated $1 million for Katrina victims. She has even provided shelter for one of the hurricane victims in her own house. Sato is also active with the Salvation Army and is on the steering committee for the Kroc Center, a community and recreation facility to be built in central Long Beach.
She is currently married to Thomas Sato and has two twin sons, Daniel and Douglas and resides in Bixby Village.
Former mayor Ernie Kell will be interviewed next by the HSLB on Thursday, July 9 at 7pm.

MORE INFORMATION
http://www.historicalsocietylb.org