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Zephyrhills wanted the final say on its street names. So did Dade City and New Port Richey, for that matter.
The parochialism of 1987 came from a county plan to rename and renumber streets as part of an enhanced 911 phone system. It was a necessary change to avoid duplication - there were 27 Oak streets - quicken emergency vehicle response time and improve mail delivery.
The cities, however, didn't want Pasco County waltzing through and renaming their streets without their approval. As a result, several cities passed ordinances retaining the final say-so.
The history lesson is important as Zephyrhills City Council yet again is confronted this evening with a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, formerly Sixth Avenue, until a council-approved name change last fall.
The long-forgotten 1987 ordinance, researched by City Council candidate Gina King, states that applications for renaming streets "may be requested by any property owner abutting the street involved. In those cases, the requests must be approved by all property owners on the street."
King maintains that the council violated that ordinance when it renamed Sixth Avenue after the slain civil rights leader. The request came from Irene Dobson, who lives outside city limits. People in the city objected.
While King raises a legitimate question, she is off base in characterizing the City Council as acting in bad faith. Such a charge would mean the council and city administration were aware of the 1987 ordinance and ignored it.
We doubt it. More likely, everyone forgot about it because it had served its purpose - maintaining home rule on street names. Considering that the city attorney, city manager and council members have all changed since the ordinance's adoption, ignorance is the likely explanation.
Resurrecting the debate on the eve of Tuesday's municipal election indicates candidate King is trying to exploit the oversight for political purposes. She has changed her platform and said, if elected, she will seek to change the name back to Sixth Avenue. Earlier, she said the issue should be put to rest unless there is evidence the council acted improperly.
City Attorney Karla Owens said it did not because the final decision rested with the council. That should answer King's concerns.
The candidate's research skills are admirable. Her flip-flop is unfortunate. Zephyrhills has more important municipal issues than street names.