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image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 6 March 2002
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The official King County flag shall consist of the county logo of a gold crown and encircling double gold rings on a rectangular green background. (Ord. 8227, 1987)
Jarig Bakker, 27 August 1999
The Seattle Times reports today that an effort is being made (not for the
first time, I believe) to change the logo of King County, Washington. In 1986,
the County Council adopted an ordinance "renaming" King County after Martin
Luther King, Jr. Previously, the name had honored William R.D. King, a long-ago
US vice president. This change was ratified by the state legislature last year.
The new logo has not yet been designed, but it would feature Dr. King's image in
some way. People supporting this ordinance are in discussions with the King
family, which must approve any design. The article can be read here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002730486_kinglogo10m.html.
It says the change would affect "buildings and vehicles." I believe there is a
county flag on display in the state capitol. The only place I remember seeing it
regularly was in the Kingdome sports stadium, which was destroyed and replaced
some years ago. Neither of the two stadiums which replaced it fly the county
flag.
Andrew S. Rogers, 10 January 2006
If this was a renaming "in spirit" only, why is it needed to change the
emblem and flag? After all, a crown is a suitable metaphor for either a M. L.
King, or a R. D. King, or any other King. (And in the process we'd keep a nice
simple flag and avoid having a flag with a face on it!)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 January 2006
That's an excellent question. I hadn't much thought about the fact that the
crown on the county flag doesn't have any real relevance to William R.D. King,
except for the symbolism of kings and crowns. You are certainly correct. In
reading the sponsors' press releases, however, I see they want the King County
symbols to mirror those of the City of Seattle and the State of Washington, both
of which employ images of the men after whom they are named. For interested
parties, the press release is here:
http://www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/news/2005/1205/LG_LP_MLK_Logo.htm and the
ordinance with proposed amendments is here:
http://mkcclegisearch.metrokc.gov/textfiles/2005-04921.doc.
Andrew S. Rogers, 17 January 2006
And today, that effort was successful. The county council has voted to change
the existing crown to a representation of Dr. Martin Luther King. No specific
design yet exists, however. The article below states that county executive Ron
Sims will come up with the new design and submit it to the council for their
approval. No time frame was given for when this design might be revealed.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002833191_webmlk27.html
The official press release can be found here:
http://www.metrokc.gov/mkcc/. It
includes a link to a PDF file tracing the history of King County seals over the
years.
Andrew S. Rogers, 27 February 2006
Last month, the county unveiled the new logo, which can be seen here:
http://www.metrokc.gov/logo/. That
site talks about the logo being phased in on county signage, vehicles,
stationery, and other materials, but only one newspaper article linked-to there
mentions "the flags that fly over county buildings" also changing (in my
experience, there are very few King County flags in King County). However, as we
established last year, the county charter does state that the flag of the county
is the county seal on a green field. I will inform if I sight one of these flags
"in the cloth."
Andrew S. Rogers, 18 April 2007