George Medak, Long Beach’s “Mr. I’ll Take Care of It,” who got things done in the city, from playing a key role in starting the Grand Prix of Long Beach to planning the redevelopment of downtown, has died. He was 81.
Medak died earlier this month from complications stemming from COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease, according to his wife, Jeri. She said a celebration of life is being planned for next year.
After news of Medak’s death circulated, accolades poured in about his quiet, decades-long, behind-the-scenes work to improve the city in a variety of areas.
“George was such a great member of the community and gave so much to the city,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, who also served as the city’s mayor, said in a statement. “As a student at CSULB, he gave me my first job as an intern working for him and I’ll never forget all he taught me about leadership and service. He will be greatly missed.”
Former City Manager Jim Hankla, meanwhile, said Medak was a critical part of getting things done in Long Beach.
“George was a pro Long Beach guy forever,” said former City Manager Jim Hankla. “When you needed something to help the city, you could always count on him to get things done.”
Doug Drummond, a former Long Beach Police Department captain and councilmember, agreed.
“George was one of the finest men I ever worked with in the city,” Drummond said. “Wherever there was a problem, he would fix it.”
Drummond had an interesting start in city government with Medak.
Medak got his first job in city government as a police officer in the early 1960s. When the Watts Riots broke out in 1965 in Los Angeles, Medak and Drummond were training partners and were assigned to the riots.
“Unfortunately, George was shot in the arm when a shotgun from another officer accidentally discharged.” Drummond said. “He was awarded a purple heart and assigned light duty in the city manager’s office. But he eventually left the Police Department to take a job with the city as budget director.”
John Shirey, a former assistant city manager, said Medak played a valuable behind-the-scenes role in helping get the Grand Prix started in Long Beach.
“George was instrumental in convincing sometimes skeptical city leaders that the event with its worldwide audience would be a tremendous economic driver for Long Beach and should be embraced,” Shirey said from his home in Sacramento. “George, of course, was right about the value and success of the race.”
Chris Pook, founder of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, agreed with Shirey about the importance of Medak in starting the initially fledgling Grand Prix, now one of the most popular races in the IndyCar Series — which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
“George was a critical, key person from the city in helping us overcome obstacles to the race,” Pook said last week. “He was a bright, upcoming star in the city who had been assigned to guide us through everything. He was very special.”
In his book on the history of the Grand Prix, written by Gordon Kirby, Pook describes his first meeting with Long Beach City Manager John Mansell in 1973. While waiting outside Mansell’s office with others, Pook said Medak told him: “Do not try and sell him when you get in there. Just answer his questions and keep them short.”
Medak knew that Mansell had already been briefed on issues related to the Grand Prix.
“Mansell was sitting in his chair with his back turned, his feet up on the credenza behind his desk, his fedora hat on, a cigar in one hand and an apple in the other,” the book says about that meeting. “As (Pook) entered, he greeted him (Mansell) and sat down in the chair motioned to by George Medak. Without another word, or even turning in his chair, Mansell growled in a gravelly voice, ‘So yuh wanna run a car race on my streets, huh?’”
When Pook said yes and started in his spiel, Mansell said he knew all the reasons and said he was putting the race question on the City Council agenda for the next week, where it passed.
The book describes other instances when Medak helped Pook overcome major obstacles to getting the race started.
Dan Gooch, a retired city employee and a fraternity brother of Medak’s, said the longtime city servant was relentless in solving problems.
“Whatever he did, he saw it through to the end,” Gooch said. “You could always count on him. He was a wonderful guy. I loved him.”
George Medak was born on March 25, 1943, in San Pedro to Croatian parents, George Medak Sr. and Elizabeth Jankovich Medak. His father was a commercial fisherman and, later in life, a longshoreman.
“He was so proud of his Croatian heritage,” Jeri Medak said of her husband.
Medak, Shirley said, enjoyed making trips across the Vincent Thomas Bridge to familiar ethnic restaurants in San Pedro, including Papadakis, Cigo’s and Trani’s.
Medak graduated from San Pedro High. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Cal State Long Beach and a master’s degree in public administration from USC.
After he was shot and left the Police Department, Medak went to City Hall and became Long Beach’s budget director. He was then appointed director of intergovernmental relations, a post in which he arranged for a federal grant of $67 million to redevelop downtown.
Medak eventually became executive assistant to the city manager and director of general services, where he was responsible for special projects and solving operational problems, such as developing a computerized communications system for all emergency services, reorganizing and managing all vehicle acquisitions and maintenance operations, and reorganizing the operation of all leaseholds at the city airport.
From 1972 to 1980, he also served part time as an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at CSULB and continued later as an advisor to the School of Business.
After leaving the city, Medak served as executive vice president of Sea Spray Properties, a real estate development and property management company. Following that, he founded Long Beach Financial Services, which grew into a full service mortgage brokerage.
Medak was also a philanthropist and served on many boards, including the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Long Beach Public Transportation Company, the Long Beach Community Hospital Foundation, the Conservation Corps and the Long Beach City College Foundation.
Medak was also fun-loving, Shirley said — and everyone enjoyed being around him.
“He could always be counted on for a good time,” Shirley said, whether it was while eating a “lunch of pickled eggs and pretzels at Joe Jost’s or (having) drinks after work at Lombardo’s, later 555, or the ‘Triple Nickel’ as George usually referred to it.”
But behind his jocular exterior was someone who could also be serious, Shirey said.
“He was a quick study,” Shirley said. “He could hear or read something only once and he knew it. He had a great memory and a good sense about political matters. He never did things half-way, whether it was planning a weekend bass fishing trip or building a high-rise residential tower (like Aqua) on Ocean Boulevard. Whether in business or in fun, George was all in.”
Besides his wife, Jeri, Medak, who died Dec. 4, is survived by his daughter, Amy Skenderian, and son, Mark Medak.
