CLOCK TOWER at Westminster Civic Center. The English Tudor theme comes from the naming of the city (OC Tribune photo).

When I saw on the agenda for this week’s Westminster City Council the items about changing All American Way to Charlie Kirk Way and declaring Oct. 14 Charlie Kirk Day and telling all Communists to stay out of town, my first thought was: “I guess the 2026 election season has started.”

Charlie Kirk was pretty much unknown outside of hardline conservatives until he was fatally shot in September. Among some he became a secular saint in the same way liberals regard Dr. Martin Luther King, although I don’t believe their accomplishments are comparable.

Some complaints have already surfaced in the sense of “What has he ever done for Westminster?” Interesting question.

But if there’s an great outcry for renaming streets and declaring holidays, one option would be to find someone with a Westminster connection. My nominees:

L.P. Webber: He’s the Presbyterian minister who founded the community in 1870. There wouldn’t be a Westminster without him. Or, at least, it probably would have a different name.

Jay C. Decker: He was the only member of the original Westminster City Council who was not involved in the Eastgate bribery scandal which influenced that area going to Garden Grove instead of Westminster. You have to pay respect to an honest man.

William “Bill” Shopoff (I love that name!) is the fellow behind efforts to resurrect Westminster Mall into a new mixed-use Bolsa Pacific project on that site. Not sure what the future brings there, but maybe a street name would give him some extra “push” to get it done.

Terry Rains. Yeah, I know she’s often a pain in the penumbra, but she’s been a doggedly effective advocate for transparency in city government. And if ever a city needed that ….