Opposition Appears Stiff to Naming Convention Center for King

With letters and phone calls indicating overwhelming opposition to naming the San Diego convention center for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., City Council members meet today to decide one of the most politically and racially sensitive issues they have faced in recent years.

As in 1986, when the council voted to rename Market Street in honor of the slain civil rights leader, the King tribute issue has touched a nerve in the community.

In the weeks since a council committee approved adding King’s name to the nearly completed bay-front convention center, the eight council members and Mayor Maureen O’Connor have received telephone calls and letters that reflect a range of feeling from outright racism to thoughtful opposition.

No Organized Group

Although the volume of mail has not been especially heavy, because no group has organized to oppose the plan, the overwhelming majority of the communications are against the proposal, council aides said Monday.

Councilman Wes Pratt’s file contains 14 letters of opposition and three in favor. Councilman Ron Roberts’ file contains 20 letters of opposition and four in favor. Phone calls to those and other offices are following the same pattern.

“If the City Council votes to name the new convention center in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., the indignation of the voters will bring on a ballot initiative that will cause embarrassment to the city far beyond that created by the Market Street fiasco,” one woman wrote to Pratt, who has led the effort to honor King.

In a 1987 referendum, voters stripped the name “Martin Luther King Way” from Market Street and reinstituted the downtown thoroughfare’s former name.

Other opponents object to the perceived difficulty of marketing the convention center with King’s name in it.

“The city, the Port District and all the citizens of our community have too much at stake in this much-needed convention center to handcuff its development at this late stage,” the general manager of an Old Town hotel wrote to Roberts.

Poised for Approval

“When people lose their fear to drive through black neighborhoods is the time to eulogize their leaders,” an El Cajon resident wrote. “I am a pragmatist and not a racist.”

Nevertheless, the council appears poised to approve the addition of King’s name--in some form--to the $160-million center, which is scheduled to open this fall. Five members of the council’s Rules Committee, enough to form a majority of the nine-member council, agreed Dec. 14 to forward two proposals to the council.

One suggested by Pratt would rename the facility “San Diego King Convention Center.” That proposal is opposed by the citizens committee that recommended naming the center after King, because it does not contain his full name. A second suggestion, offered by Councilman Bruce Henderson, would add the full name to the building’s title.

A Pratt aide said Monday that Pratt will work to have King’s full name included, but believes that his initial proposal has a better chance of approval by the Board of Port Commissioners. That panel, which named the facility the San Diego Convention Center in a 1985 contract with the city, must also agree to a name change.

Mayor O’Connor and Council Members Pratt, Roberts, Henderson and Judy McCarty voted for the Rules Committee proposal. Councilwoman Gloria McColl, the committee’s sixth member, was absent and has taken no position on the matter.

Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer has said she will vote for a name change, but has not decided which proposal she favors. Councilman Ed Struiksma is “leaning toward” San Diego King Convention Center, and Councilman Bob Filner has not decided, aides said Monday.