DUBLIN, Ga. — Dublin, Georgia is known by many for its rich history and years of tradition. Those things are what John Hall Jr. believes is missing in the city’s new rebrand.
“Somebody decided, you know what let’s just change everything and bring more people to Dublin," Hall said. "Well, you forgot about the people who live here, and who’ve died here.”
The City of Dublin, along with Downtown Dublin, and Visit Dublin have been in the middle of a rebranding process for months. The city recently posted its new logo on Facebook, where it got over a hundred comments and reactions, mostly expressing opinions against it.
To Hall, the city’s old logo with the Irish green color and the shamrock is what Dublin is all about. He said the new logo doesn’t reflect what the city is about or the people who live there.
Hall said his grandmother lived in Dublin, and he heard stories of how much she loved it when he was growing up in Atlanta.
One of his relatives was also the mayor of Dublin in the 1800s. That’s why 16 years ago, Hall Jr. decided to move to Dublin himself and put down some roots.
But while Hall isn’t a fan of the new logo, some people on Facebook commented in favor of it.
"I love all the positive changes that are being made in our town,” one person wrote on Facebook
Another person said that they think the logo does a good job.
“This logo honors the past and looks ahead,” they said.
Still, the number of comments disagreeing with the new logo prompted Mayor Joshua Kight to put out a statement on Facebook.
"[We will] pause all spending related to the re-branding effort until the City Council can reevaluate the project, with consideration of the shamrock and colors," Knight said.
Hall said while he is happy to hear that, he thinks it could have been avoided if the city included community members in the rebrand.
“Why didn’t you pick some kids or have a contest to update? That would be real positive, and you wouldn’t be spending our tax money,” he said.
While he does want the city to go back to the old logo, he’s worried about how much that may cost taxpayers.
“How many thousands of dollars have you already spent on banners and new business cards,” he said.
13WMAZ reached out to the mayor for comment, but he was unable to meet with us at the time.
The new logo currently appears on the city’s social media pages and website.
Hall Jr. said he will be at the next city council meeting to voice his concerns. That meeting will be Thursday, Aug. 17, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall.