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The
Myrtelle Gunsul Story
Long
Beach City Auditor 1919 - 1951
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Myrtelle L. Gunsul
Long Beach City Auditor
1919-1951 |
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In creating a plan of revitalization for the office, I researched the history of the City Auditor’s Office and learned that I am the 10th elected Long Beach City Auditor.
The first elected City Auditor was Ira Hatch in 1908. Research on him and my other nine predecessors is still in progress. One of them is a remarkable woman who served as Long Beach’s 5th elected City Auditor.
Myrtelle L. Gunsul was elected City Auditor eleven times and she won all her races in the primary! She always received more votes than any candidate for any office on the ballot.
Miss Gunsul (as she was called at the time) was elected in 1919 and retired in 1951 after 32 years of being City Auditor. Her service to Long Beach was actually longer because she was Deputy City Auditor for 4 years before being elected City Auditor.
She was City Auditor during times of tremendous growth and change. During her tenure:
 oil was discovered on Signal Hill;
women in the U.S. won the right to vote
the stock market crashed;
the Great Depression began and ended;
the 1933 earthquake destroyed much of Long Beach and the City was re-built;
World War II began and ended;
the Naval base was built,
Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College were founded.
Myrtelle L. Gunsul’s photograph hangs in my office, along with a copy of a letter that she wrote in 1931 for the Municipal Auditorium time capsule. The time capsule was recovered 44 years later in 1975.
Her letter is addressed, "To the Women of the Future", hoping she would be an incentive to other women to enter into public service. Included in the letter is her motto, “Efficiency, not Politics.”
Myrtelle L. Gunsul’s commitment to good government is an inspiration to me.
Until recently, her story seemed lost to history. We’ve located some of her surviving relatives, and they are generously sharing items that belonged to Miss Gunsul.
Our research continues so her story will live as an inspiration for future generations. Anyone with information on Miss Gunsul, memories of her service, or artifacts from her administration is asked to call my office. We will continue to update Miss Gunsul’s story on this Website.
City Auditor Laura L. Doud
June 2007
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