King County Council adopts MLK image as logo
SEATTLE (AP) - The Metropolitan King County Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt an image of the county's namesake, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as its official logo.
"Today's vote means that for future generations, we will have a daily visual reminder of Dr. King - a reminder of who he was, what he stood for, and what we want the county we live in to strive to achieve," Council Chairman Larry Gossett said in a statement.
Gossett introduced the proposal to replace the county's previous gold crown logo with a likeness of King in 1999.
The chosen design, unveiled Sunday at a community celebration at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, replaces a design that King County has used for 39 years.
When the county was created in 1852, it was named after a U.S. vice president, William Rufus DeVane King, who was also a slaveowner. In 1986, the County Council passed a motion changing the county's namesake to King. That motion did not have the force of law, however.
In 2005, the state Legislature approved, and Gov. Chris Gregoire signed, a bill officially changing the county's namesake.
The county executive was directed to come up with a new logo design in King's likeness. More than two dozen firms submitted designs.
Replacing the crown logo will cost an estimated $600,000 and the new image will be phased in over five years. The new logo will first appear on new county park signs and Corrections Department uniforms, county spokeswoman Carolyn Duncan said.
The King logo will replace the old logo on stationery as it runs out and on Metro buses when they are replaced.
"Today's vote means that for future generations, we will have a daily visual reminder of Dr. King - a reminder of who he was, what he stood for, and what we want the county we live in to strive to achieve," Council Chairman Larry Gossett said in a statement.
Gossett introduced the proposal to replace the county's previous gold crown logo with a likeness of King in 1999.
The chosen design, unveiled Sunday at a community celebration at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, replaces a design that King County has used for 39 years.
When the county was created in 1852, it was named after a U.S. vice president, William Rufus DeVane King, who was also a slaveowner. In 1986, the County Council passed a motion changing the county's namesake to King. That motion did not have the force of law, however.
In 2005, the state Legislature approved, and Gov. Chris Gregoire signed, a bill officially changing the county's namesake.
The county executive was directed to come up with a new logo design in King's likeness. More than two dozen firms submitted designs.
Replacing the crown logo will cost an estimated $600,000 and the new image will be phased in over five years. The new logo will first appear on new county park signs and Corrections Department uniforms, county spokeswoman Carolyn Duncan said.
The King logo will replace the old logo on stationery as it runs out and on Metro buses when they are replaced.