Awards & Scholarships

John R. Mansell is the City Manager of Long Beach, California.

Mr. Mansell is a native of Chicago who has been associated with the City of Long Beach since 1946, and was elected or reelected to the position of City Auditor four times. He has served as City Manager since 1961. As City Manager of Long Beach, Mr. Mansell was responsible for bringing about one of the best-controlled oil development programs in the world, encouraging maximum recovery of oil while protecting and preserving the attractive coastline environment. Under Mr. Mansell's guidance following his appointment as City Manager, detailed plans were prepared for development of the Wilmington Oil Field, calling for complete environmental protection of beach and harbor areas. Since 1965, 668 producing and injection wells have been drilled on four man-made islands, and 250,000,000 barrels have been produced as of January 1, 1973. The plan directed by Mr. Mansell demonstrates that protection of the environment and development of petroleum resources are compatible, producing billions of useable BTU's to help meet the nation's energy requirements without producing harm to the area's ecology.