Gunnar Norberg

Gunnar Norberg, (February 4, 1907–August 17, 1988) was an American businessman and politician. He served two terms as a city councilman and two terms as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Following the death of Barbara in the summer of 1972, Norberg married Wies Christianson (1933–2017) in June 1973, at the Outlands in the Eighty Acres Flanders Mansion in Carmel-by-the-Sea. They were married in costumes inspired by the Shakespearean play Twelfth Night.

During the summer of 1941, Norberg opened a travel agency, which he operated until his retirement in 1979. He also started an accounting service in Carmel during the war years.

Norberg's lost a 1962 re-election bid for the city council, but then won council elections in 1966 and 1970. Norberg served as Carmel-by-the-Sea's vice-mayor from 1972 to 1975. In September 1976, Norberg was elected as Carmel's mayor in a 3-to-2 city council vote, succeeding Eugene Hammond, who had resigned earlier in the month. He was reappointed for a second term as mayor by the city council in 1978.

The Carmel Pine Cone 's 1988 obituary for Norberg stated that as mayor he encountered resistance from his peers regarding ideas of his that were considered progressive, such as advocating against increased hotel square footage and proposing a 500-foot distance between similar tourist-oriented shops. Norberg claimed to be a "lone voice in the wilderness crying out and getting little reaction", while some residents in favor of tourist development called him the "Abominable No-Man." Under Norberg's leadership, Carmel filed two lawsuits to protect the city from development in the Carmel Valley that he viewed as unfavorable to the city's interests. He was seen as continuing the political approach set by Carmel-by-the-Sea Mayor Perry Newberry in standing firmly against unrestricted growth and tourism development. Norberg also was opposed to a proposed freeway traversing the nearby Hatton Valley to relieve traffic on the California's coastal Route 101. The local press characterized Norberg as an advocate for preserving the town's natural landscapes.

Upon Clint Eastwood's decision not to seek re-election as the mayor of Carmel in 1988, Norberg and former mayor Charlotte Townsend expressed their hopes for a return to a simpler, more ordinary way of life, with diminished commercialization in the city. Norberg emphasized his belief that Carmel had experienced a surge in commercialization during the previous two years, asserting that the essence of "Carmel wasn't made by spending money. It was made by spending the time and effort of dedicated people."

Acting and activism Norberg and his wife both acted in plays at Edward Kuster's Golden Bough Playhouse.

Death Norberg died on August 17, 1988, at age 81, at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) of natural causes. Funeral services were at the Forest Theater on August 27.

As mayor, Norberg had planned to launch of the Festival of Firsts, a playwriting competition that he intended to be a prime annual cultural event for the town. In September 1989, a year after his passing, the inaugural festival was held at the town's Sunset Center performance arts venue. The play Portrait of a Dream, written by Californian True Boardman, was selected as the winner from among 141 nationwide entries.

Norberg died shortly after completing a memoir of his experiences in the army, which he titled The Private Norberg Story, Me and the General World War II at the Homefront. His wife and son had the manuscript published in March 2008.