San José Asks for Help Renaming Plaza de Cesar Chavez
San José has opened a new ranked-choice survey so residents can help decide what to rename the downtown park and plaza that has long been named for Cesar Chavez.
The survey, available here, is one of the last few steps in the city’s monthslong process to find a new name for the roughly 2-acre plaza at 194 South Market St., where many events, rallies and annual traditions like Christmas in the Park are held.
Efforts to engage the community and solicit new naming suggestions began earlier this year, shortly after allegations broke that Chavez, a once revered labor rights figure, sexually abused women and girls, including Dolores Huerta, with whom he co-founded what would become the United Farm Workers union.
In their initial call for input through community listening sessions and an open period for submissions, city officials said they received more than 600 suggestions from residents and organizations.
“The extraordinary response from our community reflects how deeply San Joséans care about this historic gathering place,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement. “Residents shared an inspiring range of names and ideas, and now we’re inviting them to rank the finalists so we can move closer to a name that honors the plaza’s history, reflects our shared values and represents the community it serves.”
After tossing out naming suggestions that didn’t meet the city’s previously established criteria for park names, and combing through the most popular choices, parks officials have whittled the list down to five options:
- Farmworkers Plaza
- Plaza de Quetzalcoatl
- Plaza de San José
- Plaza del Pueblo
- Plaza Park
The city’s survey allows participants to move the naming choices around to rank them in order from their first preference to last preference.
The survey opened on July 24 and will be open through Aug. 3, according to the city.
Ed Bautista, a spokesperson for the city’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department, said the city will promote the survey through social media posts, mailing lists and signs at the park featuring a QR code directing people to the survey.
“We’re going to be counting on the community, and we know they’re going to jump in and be part of this process,” Bautista said in an interview. “And so we’re really excited by making sure that the community is involved and that we’ll get to a new name sometime in the fall.”
Gabby Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, a South Bay nonprofit, said she appreciates the city’s immediate response to the allegations.
“Government isn’t always known to move super quick, but I think in this instance, they responded very quickly to the community’s calls to really acknowledge the harms that have transpired, but also that the legacy of the farmworker movement and the legacy and the history in this area, in particular in San José, also be considered,” she said in an interview.
“It’s been a place of celebration, of community joy, of music, and really just celebrating the diversity that is San José,” Chavez-Lopez said about the park and plaza.
She expects the legacy of the park as a valuable shared space in the city’s downtown to continue, now and after the renaming.
“A name is a name, but at the end of the day, it’s about the memories and the community connections that are made in that place,” she said.
After the close of the survey, city staff will review the results and present recommendations to the Parks and Recreation Commission at its Sept. 2 meeting, according to the city.
The commission is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council, which will make the final decision on the park’s new name.
Jamie Ortizen, of San José, was visiting the park on Monday with her family and a friend from out of town.
After reviewing the five naming options, Ortizen said she likes Farmworkers Plaza.
“It still has the spirit of what Cesar Chavez was fighting for. And they’re a huge part of the economy in California, and it’s important to honor them,” she said.
“It’s always the effort of many people, of building a union or winning rights, and so actually honoring all of the farmworkers rather than just one person I think makes sense,” Oritzen said.
The park and plaza are one of the most prominent places in the city named for Chavez, who at one time lived in East San José.
But it is far from the only place in San José, with schools, libraries, and physical installations like the Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice at San José State University honoring his name or likeness.
Community leaders and politicians have either renamed or begun work to rename dozens of parks, libraries, schools, monuments and streets named for Chavez around the state.