Stanton’s Bang-Up Idea: Skyrocketing to Fame

Of all the Orange County cities, Stanton, I’d venture to guess, is the one with the biggest inferiority complex. In years past, it has hung its head and hated to look in the mirror. It looks at Buena Park and thinks, what if? Joined in a 31-city urban conglomerate, it looks around and notices it doesn’t have a coastline or a harbor or a big mall or an amusement park or a funky main street. It doesn’t even have a Starbucks.

If it didn’t serve as the Gateway to Garden Grove, you might well ask yourself what the heck Stanton is even doing in Orange County. It’s the town the rest of us overlook when we’re looking for a place to go. Not to mention close our eyes when we drive through. Sad to say, but Stanton just seems out of place in Orange County. I’m surprised it doesn’t snow there.

Now, before you begin mouthing the words “wiseacre cheap-shot artist,” be advised that some people in Stanton would tell you the same thing. They might be nicer about it, but self-esteem has not been high on the city’s list of characteristics.

Can you name another city in which a councilman suggested that it change its name? Al Ethans did just that a year ago, wondering if starting all over with a new name might help. The other four council members pooh-poohed the idea, as did several residents who spoke at a council meeting. More telling, perhaps, is that two other residents spoke in favor of it.

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Ethans’ point was that it’s hard to shake a reputation. With its nine murders last year, Stanton was No. 1 in per capita homicides, and that isn’t exactly Chamber of Commerce material. And speaking of commerce, prostitutes found prime pickings along Beach Boulevard--that stretch of arterial inequity that bisects Stanton.

Prostitution and murder don’t do much for a city’s image.

But now, the city has an idea for getting a legitimate bang for its residents and, by design, restore civic pride.

Stanton wants to be the first California city to allow fireworks at the end of 1999.

Accordingly, the City Council was expected to raise the fireworks measure last night. The public will get a chance to weigh in before the council votes on the measure at its next meeting in two weeks, Mayor David John Shawver says.

I asked Shawver why it’s important that Stanton be the first to score with the fireworks idea. “It’s better than being second,” he says. “It’s my understanding that if this passes and is supported at a public hearing, we’ll be one of the first cities in the country to have this ordinance passed. I know in California we will be.”

All right, so it’s not exactly like having the Little League World Series champs or a National Spelling Bee finalist, but Stanton’s heart is in the right place.

Yes, Shawver acknowledges, Stanton feels the heat from other Orange County cities that have more bucks in the bank and better images.

“You have cities that are All-America cities, cities that have large festivals,” Shawver says. “This is a way for the city of Stanton to celebrate its unity. It’s a way to pull together and have some fun in our community.”

Shawver teaches and coaches at a Long Beach high school but is a 30-year Stanton resident. He doesn’t shy away from discussing the city’s struggle to recover from its recent history.

“We’ve made it over the hill. We are moving forward,” he says. “We’ve changed our city motto from “Crossroads of Vacationland” to “Community Pride and Forward Vision.” The city made a major push to purge Beach Boulevard of prostitution, and, overall, crime is down 27% this year, Shawver says. No one ran against the council incumbents this year, which Shawver says is a sign of community contentment.

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Might it be apathy? I ask. “I don’t think so,” he says. “I think we’ve gone past the apathy stage and are in the stage of joining in and working together.

“We also have a new growth spurt within the community, which has helped the sales tax revenue base. For the first time in 30 years, we’re actually building 85 new single-family homes in the community. We never had the ability to do that before. Never had the interest.”

The fireworks ordinance would be possible under a state law that is giving cities an end-of-the-century exemption to sell fireworks legally. Now, cities can only do it around the Fourth of July.

Spotting a public relations opening, Stanton jumped. Shawver says the city already sports a number of “old-fashioned block parties. I’m not sure a lot of cities have the ability to do that,” he says.

But leading the 2000 parade on fireworks was clearly calculated to bring some attention to Stanton, Shawver says. “We want to toot our own horn every once in a while.”

You’re obviously aware, I tell Shawver, of the rotten things people sometimes say about your town. The mayor laughs and says, “I always come back with my favorite quote. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the street, and we’re happy to be where we are.”

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers can reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.