O’Connor to Head King Way Effort : Opposes Ballot Measure to Return Name to Market Street

Believing that a majority of San Diegans support her view, Mayor Maureen O’Connor will serve as chairwoman of the Committee to Keep Martin Luther King Way, the mayor’s office said Thursday.

The issue of Market Street being renamed Martin Luther King Way is scheduled for the city ballot in November.

Frank Salazar, one of 75 merchants working on the Keep Market Street Committee, said his group “isn’t threatened” by O’Connor’s involvement.

“We believe we’ll win,” he said, “when the matter goes before the voters of San Diego Nov. 3.”

Paul Downey, the mayor’s press secretary, said Thursday that O’Connor is optimistic about the name of the street being retained. Market Street, so named in 1910, became Martin Luther King Way in April, 1986, before O’Connor took office. Angry merchants, citing everything from having to change letterheads to not being properly polled, protested the City Council’s decision to change the name. But a year ago, the council reaffirmed its decision.

In April of this year, the Keep Market Street Committee presented a petition containing more than 80,000 signatures, which qualified the issue for the ballot.

“Mayor O’Connor feels very strongly that the street should remain Martin Luther King Way,” Downey said. “She has a lot of respect for the accomplishments of Dr. King, one of the world’s great civil rights leaders. To change the name back just doesn’t seem appropriate.”

Restaurant Owner

Salazar, who owns a restaurant on the street, said, “Our contention is that our rights were violated in April of ‘86, when the council decided the matter. They didn’t give us the chance to speak. Our beef is strictly with the council and the way it was handled. It was handled lousy.”

Salazar said the council “feels guilty” for the way the matter was handled, because it’s “polling everybody in sight” regarding a possible name change of 12th Avenue to Park Boulevard.

“That street is seven blocks long,” he said, “and they’re asking everybody how they feel. Market Street is 7 1/2 miles long, and none of us were asked. They just did it.”

Downey said the mayor couldn’t comment on whether the council mishandled the issue in the first place, since she took office after the name change.

“It’s important for San Diego to have some kind of memorial to Dr. King, and Market Street is it,” Downey said.

‘No Risk Politically’

He said the mayor sees her support as “having no risk politically,” as she believes that voters will see the issue the same way she does.

Salazar said he and other merchants had feared that customers would think long-time Market Street businesses had moved. But he conceded that there had been no drop in business, and no change in mail service. Despite the fact that most mail is still addressed Market Street, it gets delivered, he said, without a problem.

“This is not a racist issue--nothing we’ve done smacks of that,” he said. “If the name is changed back, it won’t be embarrassing to the city of San Diego, but it will be to the council, which angered everybody to begin with. They took the easy way out.

“Instead of changing it back like they should have, we forced them to put it on the ballot. Now the voters have the say, and we believe they’ll see it like we do.”