In early July, the Phoenix City Council voted unanimously to rename Robert E. Lee Street, a designation long criticized as offensive for commemorating the commander of the Confederate Army in the Civil War.
However, there is still a Robert E. Lee Street in nearby Glendale, and city officials currently have no plans to rename it.
Vice Mayor Ray Malnar, whose district the street is in, said he's aware that some Glendale residents want the street renamed. But it would be an "inherently complex" process, he said, because it's a residential street with many houses on it and those residents would be forced to change a lot of legal documents.
"The city needs to make sure that we are being responsive to the needs of the community and, most importantly, making sure that any new names are something the residents of a neighborhood and the community at large can be proud of," Malnar said.
Malnar declined to say whether he believed the name was offensive. He said he would speak to residents about the issue.
"Any changes to existing names should be a community-driven effort with public input gathered from multiple entities," Malnar said. "As part of that commitment, over the following months, I will continue my efforts to meet with the residents of the neighborhood and residents of the Sahuaro District to get their input on this topic."
'The times are changing'
Jeffrey Manes and his wife have lived in Glendale near Robert E. Lee Street for four years, and they always thought it was strange that the city had a street named after a Confederate general.
"The fact of the matter is the man was a traitor. He was a racist, quite frankly. We should not be memorializing people like that in this country," Manes said. "I think it's time we did away with these types of things."
Manes assumed Glendale would rename Robert E. Lee Street after Phoenix made its decision. He said he was dismayed when city officials said nothing about it.
On June 19, Manes expressed his feelings about the issue on the Glendale Facebook page. He never received any response from the Facebook page administrators or from any city official, he said.
Manes said he will contact city officials to request they change the name.
"Everyone is complacent about this kind of stuff, myself included, because that's not the first time I've noticed that street in the four years I've lived here," Manes said. "But the times are changing. The things that I see on the news are definitely driving me toward thinking about it a little more, and wanting to know more and wanting to make sure the city, this state and this country are as inclusive as possible, and memorializing people like this is not the way to do it."
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