Long Beach Press-Telegram,
Sept 2 2012
Deukmejian just keeps adding to his legacy
by Tim Grobaty, Columnistpresstelegram.com
George Deukmejian was the 35th governor of California, serving from
1983 to 1991. He has lived in Long Beach with his wife, Gloria, since
their marriage in 1957.
Question: Did you watch Clint Eastwood during the convention? What was
that all about?
Answer: It was pretty weird.
Q: When he did the Super Bowl ad, the conservatives were outraged
because they thought he was making a liberal statement. Now the
liberals are outraged because he’s a conservative who talks to chairs.
What is Clint Eastwood all about?
A: I’ve met with him, particularly when he was mayor of Carmel. I
think he’s liberal on some issues, but he’s mostly right-leaning.
Q: What has happened to your Grand Old Party?
A: That’s what I wonder.
Q: Is the Tea Party making things difficult for the Republicans?
A: In some areas. It seems in the House of Representatives, that House
Speaker John Boehner has had some difficulties with them. I remember
very well that we had some real hard right-wingers in the (state)
Assembly and (state) Senate. They will push and push and push. It has
some influence, but generally these things get ironed out and
compromises are made. You have the same kinds of hard-liners on the
Democrats’ side, too.
Q: Your biography on the state’s “Governor’s Gallery” begins: “As a
young boy, George Deukmejian was considered polite, good natured and
studious.” How many politicians can that be said about these days?
A: I was polite and good-natured. I don’t know where they came up with
the “studious” part.
Q: Both you and your wife are Armenian. Is that a coincidence, or did
you meet at some Armenian dating club?
A: We met at a wedding between two Armenians. Her parents, like mine,
were chased out of Turkey. Hers settled in Long Beach. Both of our
families were invited to this wedding in 1956. Gloria and I danced at
the wedding, then we started dating. I was living in Los Angeles, so I
had to come down to Long Beach to take her out, and that’s how I got
acquainted with Long Beach, and particularly Belmont Shore.
Q: That’s where you opened your office.
A: I had just come to Long Beach and I went down to the office of the
Marina News, which was before the Grunion Gazette, and I asked are
there any lawyers in the Shore, and they said no. They were all
downtown back then. So I opened my office above Coast Bank, which was
later Blockbuster Video. I got involved with the Shore. I joined the
Belmont Shore Business Association and in my first year they made me
president.
Q: Then you ran for Assembly with the invaluable help of my beloved
grandmother and great-grandmother.
A: They were a huge help, especially in getting the women’s vote out for me.
Q: We’re kingmakers. I remember walking precincts with my dad.
Horrible way to spend a Saturday.
A: I walked them, too. Back then, being an assemblyman was a part-time
job. Every other year, we would convene for just a month or two to do
the budget, and that was all we did for that year. But with the budget
session, the governor could put in additional items that he wanted.
Pat Brown was adding more items every time, so the 30-60-day sessions
grew to 90, then 120-day sessions, so in 1966, voters changed it to a
full-time legislature. But when it was part time, I didn’t have a
budget for radio or TV, so it was direct mail and walking the
precinct. Saw some pretty funny things doing that.
Q: Anything involving naked housewives?
A: No. I wish. There was this one guy who just yelled at me to come
in. So I opened the screen door – no one closed their doors in those
days – and I was walking in an I saw this huge iguana on top of the
bar that held his living room drapes. Scared me to death.
Q: Did you run out screaming at the top of your lungs?
A: No. I kept my cool. But it was a strange experience.
Q: Do you monkey around at all with city government in Long Beach?
A: Not too much. I have endorsed candidates in my district. I help out
at fundraising events if they need me. Currently, I’m helping Gary
DeLong. I still get asked for endorsements, but I tell them, “Look,
everyone I endorse loses.”
Q: You have a lot of things named after you, including two streets in
Long Beach.
A: Yes. And did you know there’s a Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Glendale?
Q: No. Did you know there’s a baseball diamond named Grobaty Field in
Lucerne Valley?
A: I did not.
Q: The best thing for you, though, is the new courthouse downtown
being named for you. That’s huge.
A: What a wonderful, amazing honor. I came to Long Beach in 1958 and I
didn’t know anyone except my wife and now to have a courthouse named
for me is really a thrilling honor. Nothing I ever expected. Now the
challenge is to stay alive until it opens.
Q: No, you’re fine. Most people are dead before something is named
after them. Just being alive long enough to know is good enough. You
can die happy now.
A: Thanks.
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