San Jose is one step closer to selecting a new name for the city’s popular downtown park, Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
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San Jose’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department released the results of the poll –conducted July 24 through Aug. 3 — on Tuesday. The five choices were drawn from more than 600 community suggestions to rename the park, the most well-known tribute in San Jose to the recently disgraced farm labor leader.
Plaza de San Jose was the clear-cut top choice, receiving the most first-place votes (4,116) and the highest ranked-choice score (3.96). The other finalists, in order on their ranked choice score, were Farmworkers Plaza (2.99), Plaza del Pueblo (2.96), Plaza Park (2.72) and Plaza de Quetzalcoatl (2.36).
“The recommended name reflects the city’s history, identity, and the plaza’s longstanding role as San Jose’s civic gathering space,” Jon Cicirelli, director of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, stated in a memo. “The plaza has served as the historic center before and since the city was founded and the importance of the space as the city’s central plaza was repeatedly raised during the community listening sessions.”
The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission will review the results at a 5:30 p.m. special meeting Sept. 2 at the Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., and will make a recommendation to the San Jose City Council, which is expected to take up the issue later this fall. The City Council can approve the commission’s recommendation or choose its own name, including a name not among those in the community-driven survey.
The memo from Cicirelli provides a trove of background on the selection process, including a list of community suggestions. More than 600 were received, with about two-thirds of those being deemed eligible entries.
The original list of suggestions included naming the space after labor icon Dolores Huerta, Filipino farmworker leaders, local music legends Los Tigres del Norte, or Blanca Alvarado, San Jose’s first Latina councilmember. Others included Tommie Smith and John Carlos Plaza, Rod Diridon Plaza and The Doobie Brothers Plaza of Musical Arts.
Many were disqualified because of city guidelines that say public spaces generally cannot be named for people unless they have been dead for at least five years. Strangely, Smash Mouth Plaza wasn’t disqualified for that reason but because they have “no clear connection or significance to San Jose.” Fans of the San Jose band, known for its hit “All Star,” might disagree.
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There also were a few funny entries, like Plaza McPlazaface, Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting Park and Joey Chestnut Park.
In a Facebook post that received a lot of positive response, former Mercury News sports columnist Mark Purdy suggested the council go its own way and select “The Plaza,” harkening back to what residents called the public square for decades, regardless of its name on maps.
“If we stick to the original name, other elements in the park can be created to salute worthy people and deeds,” Purdy wrote. “There could be a Farmworkers monument or a Dolores Huerta plaque. There could be a Jim Plunkett fountain, a Brandi Chastain light tower or a Doobie Brothers music stage. A Quetzalcoatl sculpture is already there.”
Of course, one commenter pointed out that the original Spanish settlers would have called it, “La Plaza.”
Once the town square during California’s Spanish era, the 2.3-acre park is situated on Market Street between San Fernando and San Carlos streets. From 1887 until 1958, it was the site of San Jose City Hall and remained a focal point of downtown after that Gothic building was torn down. Over the past five decades, it has hosted several signature events throughout the year including Christmas in the Park, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and Music in the Park.
The City Council voted to name the park — which has had several names since the city’s founding including Market Plaza and Plaza Park — to honor Chavez after the iconic labor leader’s death in 1993. Chavez lived in San Jose in the 1950s and started his organizing in the city, helping get out the vote among Latino residents.
Officials launched the renaming process last month following explosive sexual abuse allegations against Chavez that became public in March. Chavez’s name, which had been etched into the stone stage at the park’s north end, has since been covered with concrete.
“The extraordinary response from our community reflects how deeply San Joseans care about this historic gathering place,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement before the ranked-choice survey was conducted.
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