Hello, there!
Do you have friends, family or colleagues who salute the Emperor — but have yet to sign this Change dot org petition?
The petition is closing soon. But, there still are great reasons to sign. The reasons might be a little different now than they were 10 years ago — but, they are no less urgent.
Please read on.
ON 1 AUGUST 2013, I launched this petition calling on the California state legislature to add "Emperor Norton Bridge" as an honorary name for the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.
The petition raised 3,700 signatures and loads of media attention in its first 6 weeks — and became the impetus for the launch of The Emperor's Bridge Campaign in September 2013.
In December 2019, the Campaign changed its name to The Emperor Norton Trust.
Today, the petition stands at nearly 6,700 signatures.
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ON 1 AUGUST 2023 — exactly 10 years after the launch date — we'll close the petition.
Of course, the decade mark affords a nice opportunity to tie a bow on a project like this.
But, the truth is that we've made the initial point: We've showed that, in a 10-year-period from 2013 to 2023, many thousands of people wanted the state legislature to honor Emperor Norton by putting his name on the Bay Bridge — and, they said so by signing this petition.
We urge anyone who has yet to sign the bridge petition and wants to be counted as part of this number to please add their name to the petition before it closes on August 1st.
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OF COURSE, The Emperor Norton Trust is extremely gratified by the City of San Francisco's recent gesture in adding "Emperor Norton Place" as an honorary name for the 600 block of Commercial Street — where the Emperor is documented to have lived from 1864/65 until his death in 1880.
Indeed, we think that this naming should be seen as an opportunity to leverage and create momentum for what may be the larger message of the petition:
Whether or not the Bay Bridge, thousands of people still want to see some major public landmark in San Francisco named after Emperor Norton.
In October 2022, The Emperor Norton Trust laid down the "bridge campaign" and introduced a proposal to name the clock tower of the San Francisco Ferry Building the "Emperor Norton Tower." You can read our proposal and commentaries on this by clicking "Learn More" at EmperorNortonTower.org.
We urge anyone who likes this Emperor Norton Tower idea and would like to help this idea gain a hearing to please sign the bridge petition now. This might seem counterintuitive. But, anyone who signs the bridge petition:
- Aligns themselves with thousands of others who want to see a major San Francisco public landmark named after Emperor Norton.
- Helps to create a larger number of voices for the Trust's future advocacy efforts to press that basic point.
Indeed, we urge all who wish to see the Emperor's name on a major public landmark in San Francisco to sign now and become a part of the future that this petition always has envisioned.
Thank you!
JOHN LUMEA
The Emperor Norton Trust