By: Chris Munzing
Eaton held the office from June 1979 until he retired in March 1999. He came back on an interim basis in June 2001, after Bruce Nyman left, and stayed until April 2002, when Harold Porr III was hired.
Eaton has a steep hill to climb to claim the office for a third time. The current Republican-controlled City Council has made going against the old ways its calling card, and Eaton was a Democratic city manager at a time when the Democrats were at their most powerful in Long Beach.
The council will be interviewing candidates this Saturday, but council President Jim Hennessy would not comment on whether Eaton was one of them.
"It's their decision to make," Eaton said, referring to the council. "And if they feel they have more viable candidates, then that's their decision. But this is what she wanted me to do, so here I am."
Eaton does have some support on the council. "I'm a big Ed Eaton fan," said Democrat Leonard Remo. "I think an interview with him could be enlightening, especially for council members who have not worked with him before."
Loretta Eaton's request came after Glen Spiritis stepped down as city manager in October. Eaton said that his wife, who was hospitalized beginning in July, knew that he had enjoyed his time in the office, and felt that he could be an asset to the city's government again. "We were a team, and any success I had was because of her," Eaton said in an interview at his Long Beach home, looking over his late wife's bird-watching awards, that hang in his living room.
"She was upset when I retired the first time five years ago," he laughed. "She just felt that I was the right man for the job. I guess that's a wife's obligation, but she thought I did a good job for those 20 years."
Eaton said that his wife enjoyed his time as city manager as much as he did, carving herself a niche as the city's unofficial photographer. Loretta could be seen, camera in hand, anywhere an event was taking place in Long Beach.
Her husband said that her photography began as a survival mechanism. Whenever Eaton attended an event, he brought Loretta. After a while, he said, she decided that she wasn't content just being the city manager's wife, and she began taking pictures wherever they went. "After a little while, they weren't inviting me anymore," he laughed. "They wanted Loretta to come down with a camera. And they would say to me, 'Oh, you're here, too.' But she loved it. "How many wives would vacation to California to research skate parks or sewage plants?" Eaton said. "We went to Key West to see an incinerator site. And she was always there taking pictures, making note of things there that might look nice in Long Beach."
Loretta became a force in the community, joining many organizations and implementing programs wherever she went. "She had such a great ability, and we really loved her," said Dorothy Thoung, who was a member of the Lions Club with Loretta. "She was able to start programs and carry them out, and she was always so intelligent and resourceful. We loved her."
Eaton said that during his years as city manager, his wife also served as a valuable sounding board. He called her his in-house psychologist. "She was very intelligent and low-key," he said. "I would come home raving about something, and she had a way of calming everything down and helping me understand things. She was the person that kept me balanced."
Regardless of whether he is rehired as city manager, Eaton said that he is happy that he could do this for his wife. "She made me promise to give it a shot," he said. "And I did."
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