Nevada County Overrules Dems, Moves To Name Road ‘Pres. Trump Way’
A rural Nevada county is making some of the state’s Dem voters see red with a move to rename a road after former President Donald Trump. Trump won the county by a 12,441-vote margin over Democrat Joe Biden out of 39,238 votes cast.
Lyon County commissioners voted 4-1 to move forward with a proposal to rename the half-mile (0.8-kilometer) Old Dayton Valley Road in Dayton, an unincorporated community 23 miles (38 kilometers) south of Reno, ‘Pres. Trump Way’
County Commissioner Ken Gray told News 4-Fox 11, “He was a good leader as far as I’m concerned, he supported law enforcement, he supported our military, he supported the rurals.”
“Show me one street or building or bridge that wasn’t named after somebody that had controversy associated with them,” he added.
Gray, a Republican, added that it is ‘routine business’ to name roads after leaders, and when asked if he would be supportive of renaming a street ‘President Obama Way’ he said: “If it was brought up from the community, I would entertain the idea, absolutely.”
From The Hill:
The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners voted Thursday to pass the measure with only one commissioner voting against it, local news site Carson Now reported.
Other names suggested to replace Old Dayton Valley Road were “President Donald Trump Way,” “President Trump Way” or “45 Way.”
Commissioner Robert Jacobson, who voted ‘no,’ said the decisionmaking process should have involved the public, according to the local outlet.
The public comments portion of the proposal meeting drew mixed responses.
One resident reportedly said the name change makes sense since 70 percent of the county voted for the former president.
Others were less pleased about the prospect of the road being named after Trump, according to the outlet.
From Carsonnow:
Buildings on Old Dayton Valley Road include the high school, Bureau of Land Management offices, and other county buildings, according to commissioners.
A staff member pointed out that there could be a significant financial impact to the high school by switching the name.
Commissioner Robert Jacobson stated that the public should be involved in the decision making process of choosing a name, and was the only commissioner to vote no across the board.
Some suggestions for the street were “President Donald Trump Way,” “President Trump Way” or “45 Way” until “Pres. Trump Way” was decided upon.
Most of the public comment on the agenda item voiced opposition to the proposal, citing issues such as Trumps’ polarization, not involving the public in choosing a name, and the fact that the name change would affect a public school.
One citizen stated they believed there was “a better use of county funds than renaming a street for someone so polarizing and divisive,” and suggested renaming the street for someone everyone in the county agreed upon.
One citizen stated they did not want the name to be changed at all because Old Dayton Valley Road was important and historical to the residents of Dayton.
Another citizen, Allison Woodman, suggested putting the vote to the entire community so they could be involved in the renaming. She asked for the commissioners to wait to see if Trump will be prosecuted for criminal behavior before they rename a sign after him. She also stated it’s inflammatory to put it on a street with a school.
A Nevada county has moved to name a stretch of road after former President Donald Trump from Old Dayton Valley Road to "Pres. Trump Way." https://t.co/1zupDJChrZ
— Newsmax (@newsmax) July 5, 2021