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Veteran LB Activist Joanne O'Byrne, Sic Transit
(July 14, 2005) -- LBReport.com is genuinely saddened to report the passing of veteran LB activist Joanne Weinhof O'Byrne.
Details are pending as we post. Ms. O'Byrne's legacy is visible basically everywhere in Long Beach.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Ms. Weinhof O'Byrne played a leadership role in Long Beach Area Citizens Involved (LBACI), a proudly politically leftish group that at its height led successful campaigns which begat geographically-elected City Council districts (instead of elected citywide), enacted a LB Citizen Police Complaint Commission and LB Campaign Finance Law (Prop M)...and helped elect Alan Lowenthal and several others to public office.
Ms. Weinhof O'Byrne passed away at a local hospice. 1st district Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal conveyed the community's regards to A former school teacher, Ms. O'Byrne was also active in the local NAACP, LAMDA and on homeless issues. Her advocacy was polite, pointed...and frequently pedagogical. In one memorable Council appearance, she likened some contemporary practice to the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (in NYC in the early 20th century) which spurred workplace reforms. Some in the Council Chamber appeared visibly bewildered by the historical reference...but Ms. O'Byrne took pleasure in making it and in pressing her point.
In recent years as LBACI receded from the local scene, Ms. O'Byrne became less visible, particularly after the passing of her husband...
We post some remembrances below. As we receive them (to mail@LBReport.com) we'll update this page. Click reload or refresh on your browser to ensure updated text.
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...but we spotted her -- beaming with delight -- on the June 2004 night when grassroots activist Rae Gabelich ousted a Council incumbent who'd been backed by much of LB's establishment.