Yahoo! News - Residents Poke Fun at Topeka With Slogans

Municipal boosterism at its most modest...

TOPEKA, Kan. - The city of Topeka is looking for a new slogan, but some residents just couldn't resist poking fun at their city's image.



Officials planned to begin a contest in October, with the winning motto to be announced around Dec. 5, Topeka's 150th anniversary.


But The Topeka Capital-Journal decided to get a head start.


Some suggestions that aren't likely to win official approval: "Topeka, you won't get a lot of unwanted relatives visiting you," and "Topeka — not as bad as you think."


Mayor James McClinton said Topeka has positive aspects like the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and the Statehouse that it can promote and shouldn't get sidetracked by naysayers.


"There's so much about Topeka that we all know and that we've lived over the years," McClinton said.


The slogan will be used to promote the city so it must portray it favorably — unlike many of the suggestions that the Topeka Convention and Visitors Bureau has received already.


"I didn't think they were terribly positive," said Stephanie Wallingford, the bureau's marketing and tourism manager.


And if Terry Carpenter's suggestion — "City of morons" — is any indication of the prevailing sentiment, Topeka may just forgo a slogan entirely.


"No slogan is better than a bad one," Wallingford said. "Maybe we don't use one. Maybe we get our theme knocked out and get some graphic that we can use that says it all."