If elected, Gina King says, she'll work to reverse the naming of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published April 9, 2004
ZEPHYRHILLS - City Council candidate Gina King always objected to last year's renaming of Sixth Avenue but said if elected, she would let the new name stand.
Now, she wants to change it back.
King, who is challenging Lance Smith for Seat 4, unearthed a 1987 ordinance that spurred her to change part of her platform. She said Thursday that if elected, she will move to have Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue changed back to Sixth Avenue.
King, 33, spoke against the name change at council meetings in October and November. In deciding to run for the council, she said the issue prompted her to enter politics but that she would not revisit it once in office.
Ordinance No. 417 changed her mind.
The law was passed in April 1987 to prevent Pasco County from unilaterally changing city street names in a program to renumber buildings and eliminate duplicate names.
It dictates that all public and private streets be named by the City Council.
Additionally, Section 3 of the law says applications for naming new streets or renaming existing streets "may be requested by any property owner abutting the street involved." In those cases, such requests must be approved by all other property owners abutting the street.
It's that part that King says was violated in the Sixth Avenue change.
"The spirit that's intended by this ordinance is (that) City Council is the only authority that can change the name of streets," said King, who lives on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. "But if somebody wants to change the name of a street, then it outlines procedures for what to do."
City Council members renamed Sixth Avenue after receiving a letter from Irene Dobson requesting the road be renamed to honor the slain civil rights leader. Dobson, who lives outside the city limits in the Otis Moody neighborhood, had collected about 100 signatures in support of the change. Many of the signers also lived outside the city limits.
That, along with other issues, became a point of contention among residents angered by the change. Hundreds of people signed petitions to stop the renaming, while others tried to recall the council members who had voted for it.
King said Section 3 of the 1987 ordinance proves the City Council acted "in bad faith."
"If the City Council (in 1987) wanted the authority to name new streets and change the name of streets, why bother with drafting up Section 3?" she said. "The purpose of that whole section is that people don't wake up in the morning and read in the newspaper that the street name was changed."
City attorney Karla Owens disagrees with King's interpretation.
"I think her point is moot," Owens said. "This was generated by the City Council, not by petition of property owners on the street," she said.
Beyond that, Owens said, the council had the authority to act as it did.
"(The ordinance) still places the final decision-making in the hands of the City Council."
King did not dispute that point.
"I understand that there is some ambiguity in the language of this ordinance, but that doesn't change the spirit in which it was intended."
Rj Morgan, a candidate for Seat 2, also entered the City Council race because he objected to the council's handling of the name change. He has said all along he will move to reinstate the old name if elected.
However, he declined to comment about the issue Thursday.
He said he would probably speak during Monday's City Council meeting, where King is scheduled to raise the issue.
Incumbent Smith, King's opponent, said he doesn't think the newfound ordinance changes anything.
"The first part says the City Council shall name the streets," he said. "I read through it, and I think it's pretty clear that we didn't violate that ordinance."
King said she would not object to street signs bearing Dr. King's name being left up. But she thinks the road's official name should be changed back to Sixth Avenue.
