Missouri City Street Name Change Causes Animosity Among Council

MISSOURI CITY, TX -- A proposal by Mayor Alan Owen t rename a small stretch of road in Missouri City in honor of a county constable that served Fort Bend County for more than 20 years drew the ire of at least one city council member.

On Dec. 5, the Missouri City Council voted 5-1 to change the name of Orchard Street -- which stretches about a tenth of a mile -- to Ruben Davis Drive.

The proposal drew criticism from Councilman Jerry Wyatt, who accused Owen of proposing the change in an effort to attract new voters.

In turn, Wyatt said he would be working on a naming policy.

“I’m not going to let this go,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt opposed the name change for several reasons.

Among those reasons were that Davis was not a Missouri City resident or employee, the city doesn't have a naming policy, and Wyatt claimed that Davis had badmouthed Missouri City's police department while running for reelection in 2012 against one of the department's sergeants.

The name change would have no effect on businesses or residences, since there are none along that stretch of roadway.

Davis, who served as the Constable for Precinct two in Fort Bend County since 1996, died in October at the age of 61.

Owen, who’d known Davis for nearly 40 years, said an outpouring of support drove him to propose the change.

"I wanted us to consider doing this after so many people had contacted me about trying to do something to remember [Davis] for the many years of service that he gave for our community," Owen said.

While residents have not come out to speak for or against the name change before the Dec. 5 meeting, several came to the the meeting then to show support for the change.

With the approval, the change will go forward with a formal street re-dedication expected to take place in early 2017.

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