By Editorial

We’re pleased to know the Los Altos City Council is at least considering the possibility of changing the name of the city park at the downtown’s northern border.

The small, three-quarter acre park at Edith Avenue and San Antonio Road deserves better than its current name, Conner Park. A. Watson Conner may have been our first mayor and a vital force behind the city’s 1952 incorporation, but history shows he was not an appreciator of parks. So why is his name gracing a park?

Ironically, his name won out after a painstaking process of name selection undertaken a few years back. But with so many more deserving names out there, the Conner choice remains befuddling.

A better way is to stay away from names of city leaders and go for noble ideals. A few of the names bandied about, such as Freedom, Liberty or Allegiance, make more sense.

We think the name Freedom stands out in view of what has gone on since the Sept. 11 terrorist acts. The rebirth in patriotism has many, if not most of us, still hanging the American flag outside on our front door. A Romanian editorial last month pondered reasons why Americans are so united, before concluding: “Only freedom can work such miracles.”

The park’s centerpiece, a beautiful bronze statue of children at play, also is a symbol of freedom. Only in a free nation can children and adults alike experience complete, uninhibited joy, the joy this artwork radiates.

While Freedom is our name choice, there several alternatives that would be an improvement. This city has an opportunity to respond to the event of a lifetime, one that ultimately rallied this country and strengthened its resolve as a united nation.

At the same time, Los Altos officials can right a wrong by replacing a poor name choice with a good one.

At least two council members expressed opposition to a name change at the council’s Oct. 23 meeting. One reaction was that Conner Park was supposed to be a tranquil, passive park and inferred that changing the name would change the tone of the park. We doubt this would be the case even if a flagpole and platform were installed, as some have suggested. Another comment equated the statue and its title, “Olympic Wannabes,” to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany - utter nonsense.

A. Watson Conner would be a fine name for a conference room at City Hall. But the name of this park should reflect the ideals of its citizenry, not reflect a man whose idea of a park was his back yard.