Will Santa Clarita Be the City of Trees, Dreams or Dweebs?

Is Santa Clarita the city where “Trees Are Treasures” or the “Land of the Golden Dweeb?”

The City Council will choose July 14 among these and 75 other slogans, ranging from the serious to the snide, entered in a contest to select a motto to grace the municipal letterhead and signs. The authors of the slogans will remain anonymous until a winner is chosen.

The council decided to hold the contest after rejecting proposals from staff members that included “Santa Clarita: A Great Place to Attend Meetings” and “The City Where Volunteerism Runs Rampant.”

“Nothing thrilled them, so they decided to open it up to the public,” said Gail Foy, the city’s spokeswoman.

Foy said the 4-year-old city needs a motto to counter its quirky image, which it earned partly by recruiting local hairdressers to advise the council and by painting its buses pink and candy-apple red.

Judging by their entries, some citizens just couldn’t suppress their quirkiness. To be sure, there are some serious entries, such as “Meeting Community Needs Through Intelligent Planning” and “Facing Modern Challenges With a Frontier Spirit.”

But there also is “What’s Good for Newhall Land Is Good for Santa Clarita,” a reference to the local influence of Newhall Land & Farming Co., the largest developer in the area.

Then there is the direct approach: “This Town Is You” or “The Town That Is You,” both of which were submitted by the same person, of course.

Five people suggested “City of the Golden Dream” or other slogans using the word golden. The idea derives from the discovery of gold locally in 1842, seven years before the 1849 rush began in the Sierra Nevada.

Thus, “Land of the Golden Dweeb,” submitted by a resident who either purposely ignored Foy’s disapproval of quirkiness or who isn’t impressed with the city’s motto contest.