ANAHEIM : Vote Unanimous for King Holiday in City

The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously agreed to join a handful of other Orange County cities in declaring the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. a municipal holiday.

“It’s the right thing to do and that’s about all there is to it,” Mayor Fred Hunter said.

The decision comes just over a month after the city firefighters negotiated King’s birthday into their new contract as a holiday.

Because firefighters would have that day off, coupled with a tentative agreement with the city’s clerical workers and general staff to observe King’s birthday, the majority of city workers would not be scheduled to work on Jan. 21. Thus, the council decided to extend the holiday to the remaining city employees.

Two Anaheim residents spoke against commemorating King’s birthday with a city holiday.

“Why, if you believe in democracy, didn’t you put the dang thing on the ballot?” asked Jim Townsend, a 35-year Anaheim resident.

Another resident, Robert Bamattre, questioned King’s contributions to American society and expressed his concerns more bluntly: “I don’t think we should have a holiday for such a controversial person.”

But Councilman William D. Ehrle countered the concerns by citing the civil rights advances King helped bring about through his life’s work.

“This is a holiday for what came about in this country--not for the man himself but for what came about because of him,” Ehrle said.

Eight other cities in Orange County celebrate the civil rights leader’s birthday, four of which are celebrating it for the first time this year.