Rename W. D. Childers Plaza now
Many of you have known for some time that former State Senator and Escambia County Commissioner W. D. Childers is scheduled to be released this week from state prison, where he has served nearly three years after being convicted of bribery charges. If you’re new to Pensacola, or otherwise unfamiliar with the details, check out Bill Cotterell’s excellent piece in this morning’s News Journal.
Progressive Pensacola takes this opportunity to renew our call for the renaming of W. D. Childers Plaza in downtown Pensacola. The short one-way street, which connects Alcaniz Street to 9th Avenue alongside the southern edge of the Pensacola Civic Centre, was named for Mr. Childers in recognition of his efforts to secure funding for that facility. Today, seven years after the scandal that brought him down, the street still bears his name. That’s right — we have a street named for a convicted felon.
No one will dispute the fact that during his time in the Florida Legislature, Mr. Childers was responsible for”bringing home the bacon” in an outstanding fashion, championing projects whose collective benefit to our community is unmeasurable. He secured funding for numerous projects at UWF and PJC, for area museums, for road projects. An impressive tally indeed — but that tally doesn’t excuse, or even mitigate, the unconscionable breach of public trust of which Mr. Childers was convicted. Mr. Childers conspired to misuse public funds. He sold his vote. He perpetuated the culture of corruption in Escambia government.
For a public street to bear his name is likewise unconscionable.
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One hundred years from now, fifty, twenty five years from now very few will be interested or care that the Childers street was named after a politician who was exposed for having his hands in the cookie jar. Hell, very few care or even think about it today, aside from yourself who have made it a major agenda of your blog.
Have you considered that it might be better to leave the name as is so it will be reminder forever of the Childers name and how power can corrupt?
Instead or renaming the street and trying to forget what happened, perhaps just the opposite should be done. Erect a historical maker on the street giving a synopsis of why the street was name and who it was named after along with a synopsis of that person’s downfall and loss of face by allowing the temptation of greed to overcome his better judgment. Then every person elected to office and every person who is eating at the public trough can occasionally read the words inscribe to remind them of the wrath of the public if they stray regardless of how popular they were.
PS:
If we were to resurrect all the hidden dark secrets and skeletons of every person that a street is named after in Pensacola beginning with the Spanish explorers to and including MLK every street would have to be re-named.
I drove by it today and both of the signs I saw have GREGORY STREET.
Looks like they just changed the signs without having to vote.
That is the north side of the Civic Centre. There is only one signs for “W. D. Childers Plaza” and it is located on the south side of the Civic Centre, at Alcaniz Street, directly north of St. Michael’s Cemetery.
too bad, 3 years, if it bothered anybody BESIDES THE CITIZENS, the name would have been removed.
Maybe the leaders are waiting for Fred’s approval
No anon, no skeletons
Many cities wait until after the person passes away before they decide to name something. That is the safe way.
WD is a perfect example of what Pensacola was, is, and always will be. The land of the ‘good old boy’ politics. This whole sordid mess of a story should be documented somewhere. WD was a good- hearted man long ago. He was corrupted. Willie Junior was a good-hearted man long ago. WD corrupted him. Junior drank anti-freeze under a house to avoid a prison sentence. And WD’s main plan for an appeal is to say that his accuser is not available for confrontation. There is a movie in there somewhere. I believe that the street should remain as it is. We all need to be reminded of the power of POWER. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. As Jimi Hendrics said…”When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”