Robert Mellow Park in Blakely has paid homage to the career politician since it was named in the early 1990s, but that could change this year.
A social media campaign that launched Tuesday seeks support to rename the park to honor Army National Guard Sgt. Jan Argonish, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007 at 26 years old.
Mellow Park was named after the former state Senate Democratic Leader before he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a bogus tax return. He will report to prison on Jan. 15 to begin his 16-month sentence.
Now some borough residents, like Tom Dubas, 60, who served as police chief for 23 years, hope to see the park take on a new moniker, honoring fallen veterans rather than the fallen politician.
Mr. Dubas, who is spearheading the campaign, created a Facebook page Tuesday evening and was surprised to see more than 200 people respond in the first 12 hours. It had taken him several tries to launch the page, which his son and daughter-in-law suggested as a way to gauge public support.
"He was just a good person, and I just felt that something should be done to recognize his contribution," Mr. Dubas said of Sgt. Argonish. "Then, when the other incident occurred with the state senator pleading guilty to federal charges, I felt it was a very poor message we were sending by keeping his name on that park."
The Facebook page is the first step toward renaming the park Sgt. Jan Argonish and Fallen Warriors Park, Mr. Dubas said, adding that his main goal was to honor Sgt. Argonish.
Efforts to reach the Argonish family were unsuccessful Wednesday.
"It's not taking anything away from Sen. Mellow," he said. "He did a lot of good, but the true test of a man is to do a lot of good all the time."
Following Mr. Mellow's conviction, he said the name of the park should be reconsidered.
"You don't go to John Dillinger Memorial Gardens," he said. "We should show that there's more than just criminal penalties for doing bad. There are social penalties."
More importantly though, Mr. Dubas said he hopes to create a positive focus for the park and for the families of all fallen heroes.
Council President Joseph Quinn said it wasn't the first time the idea had been proposed since Mr. Mellow was charged.
"We said at that time, if a majority of people come in to council and bring a petition or something, we would look at putting it on the election ballot," he said, which could be done in the spring or the fall.
The Facebook page had reached 230 responses, or likes, by the time the news reached Mr. Quinn, but he remained a bit skeptical.
"Are those 230 people from Blakely borough? The way I understand Facebook, you could get anybody," he said, admitting that he was unfamiliar with the social networking site.
If the name is to be changed, a petition of registered citizens will need to be brought before the council, he continued.
"Personally, I think the senator has done an awful lot of good, especially in Blakely borough. At the present time, I don't think I'd want to change it," he said, though he said he would accept residents' input. "If the people wanted it, that's what council would do."
"His legacy is there. It's going to be there," Mr. Dubas said of Mr. Mellow. "It's a case where there are a lot of things his name appears on."
Of Sgt. Argonish, Mr. Dubas said, "He's a hometown hero, as far as I'm concerned."
Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter