Concrete Cowboy

Hailing from the barren lands of West Texas, former councilmember of Long Beach built eight large skate parks from scratch with the help of his wife Kris Donelon, and by corralling local skateboarders and politicians. Mike is a rebel, and a take no shit type of guy. He’ll tell you to your face. How else would you be able to acquire this type of attitude other than having long brown hair during turbulent sixties and a blue-collar work culture? If you want it, you work for it. On the weekends fled a small town where he grew up to drink beer at a hole in the wall blues joint during high school. He wasn’t the stereotypical redneck. Not like Porky’s. Houston called Mike.

The most famous blues joint was in the ghetto. The blues patrons exchanged high-fives with Mike and his friends like warm greetings; you made it! There were no color barriers inside where the musicians spoke the truth through their accomplished instruments.

His crisp white long sleeve t-shirt says plainly, The Donelon Company on the top line and General Contractors below. For most days this is Mike’s outfit over standard Wrangler blue jeans. Brace yourself when Mike Donelon speaks. You might get your feelings hurt because not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. A tarnished silver cross calls attention to the verse, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Barbara Jordan, grew up in the historical 5th Ward district of Houston, Texas. Mike admired her dynamic way of speaking. She was the first southern black female elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mike said, “She didn’t cry about it. She demanded change in education, a call to arms.” Mike never thought of city council. And then it happened.

The year was 1997, Mike stood on concrete steps leading up to Belmont Pool in the nice area of Long Beach as his wife whirled around on rollerblades handing out flyers to skaters who would not only care about creating a place to skateboard, but who would show up to the endless array of meetings with government officials? Forty kids came at first to learn about liability and skate law.

At the time, Donelon represented the 7th District of Long Beach, California’s largest beach city, intently pursued the idea of creating a skate park out of a vision given from listening to a neighbor who approached Donelon about the broken heads off his sprinkler system and the skaters who caused the initial complaint. The skate park solution would bridge residents who think the slap of skateboards hitting concrete is annoying and skateboarders who could legally skate to their heart’s content.

Wrangling the local skateboard community together started with a grassroots plan and yield 200 skateboarders with hopeful expectations to have a place to go to enjoy their sport. Skateboarders were issued tickets by police officers that enforced no skateboarding laws in certain areas of Long Beach like Belmont Shore, Bluff Park, Bluff Heights and Alamitos Beach. The fines could go as high as $500.00 dollars for skateboarders who roll through an area of legal riding and crossing over into an area of illegal riding. Some riders disobey the posted, “No Skateboarding” signs. A California state law, AB 1296 spares cities liability from lawsuits by skateboarders who are 14 years old and older and their families, and skaters who are injured on public property.

Skaters’ options to legally skateboard at the time were limited to finding a ride or bussing to Huntington Beach where there were two parks designed for skateboarders, or a safe place near their home. The laws made the skateboarders think there were constantly on the lookout and on the run from the police with no real place to belong. Donelon had to take action because of his complaining neighbor, in addition to the issues hit inside his own home when his 18-year-old son had been ticketed for skateboarding at Longfellow Elementary School.

Mike Donelon has been to hundreds of skate debate meetings with neighborhood associations, city leaders, and skateboarders to figure out the feasibility of building a skate park in any given area of the city. Momentum is created after these meetings for skateboarding advocacy. Mike has championed the skateboarders who often receive no respect from worried residents.

Michael K. Green and his best friend Bunthin Hem attended one of these meetings where their picture was featured on the Press-Telegram’s front page. Residents who complain about skaters riding by their properties at 1 a.m. have made flyers in the past to garner support from their neighbors by targeting the skaters as being the criminal element. City officials have shown how they care about what is happening rather than turning their backs. Mike Donelon has without a doubt been successful for providing the most deprived youth in the city challenging, gnarly and safe amenities where they too can thrive.

Mike said, “he was passionate about something and it worked. It was successful beyond imagination, not complicated or hard to do.”