No joke: Ex-mayor's name too funny for Ind. center

[February 09, 2011]  FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) -- A former Indiana mayor who won over voters in the 1930s is proving less popular with modern city leaders trying to choose a name for a new government center.

Harry Baals (bawlz) is the runaway favorite in online voting to name the new building in Fort Wayne. But Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy tells The Journal Gazette that the city probably won't name the center after its longest tenured mayor because of the jokes it could inspire.

Supporters say it's unfair that the former mayor can't be recognized simply because his name makes some people snicker. But others say they don't want the city to become the target of jokes.

His descendants now pronounce their last name "bales."

Online voting ends Friday, then the mayor will choose from several finalists.

[Associated Press]

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