{"id":5996,"date":"2026-08-01T11:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5996"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:07:48","slug":"7-things-to-know-about-renaming-san-joses-cesar-chavez-plaza-and-why-dolores-huerta-isnt-listed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5996","title":{"rendered":"7 things to know about renaming San Jose\u2019s Cesar Chavez plaza \u2013 and why Dolores Huerta isn&#8217;t listed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>San Jose residents have until midnight Aug. 3 to choose a new name for the downtown park that bore the name of disgraced labor leader Cesar Chavez for more than three decades.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5995\">Jarvis: The No Surprises Act needs a dose of sunlight<\/a><\/p>\n<p>City officials launched the renaming process in June following explosive sexual abuse allegations against Chavez that surfaced in March. The city has since narrowed the options down to five finalists: Farmworkers Plaza, Plaza de Quetzalcoatl, Plaza de San Jose, Plaza del Pueblo, and Plaza Park. The survey is available at\u00a0www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/29TD923.<\/p>\n<p>Once the town square during California\u2019s Spanish era, the 2.3-acre park is situated on Market Street between East San Fernando and San Carlos streets, hosting several signature events throughout the year including Christmas in the Park, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and Music in the Park.<\/p>\n<p>Before the final survey was released, community members floated several prominent suggestions \u2013 including naming the space after labor icon Dolores Huerta, Filipino farmworker leaders, local music legends Los Tigres del Norte, or Blanca Alvarado, San Jose\u2019s first Latina councilmember.<\/p>\n<p>Yet none of those figures made the final ballot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the final suggestions make the cut?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to Ed Bautista, spokesperson for Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, over 600 names were submitted in the initial nominations, \u201cwith the community submitting numerous name suggestions representing San Jos\u00e9\u2019s history, culture, geography, and civic identity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the city\u2019s naming policy, a proposed name must meet specific criteria \u2013 such as representing a geographic location, a historical event, or an individual who typically must have been deceased for at least five years and made significant contributions to San Jose. While living individuals can occasionally qualify through major donations or policy waivers, city staff noted that path is unlikely here.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bautista said the Ranked Choice Survey was developed \u201cusing a consistent and objective process, making sure they meet the eligibility criteria.\u201d Staff primarily \u201crelied on the number of community suggestions each eligible name received,\u201d and the options with the \u201cstrongest level of community support advanced to the Ranked Choice Survey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the connection between Quetzalcoatl and San Jose?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bautista noted that the south end of the park features a public artwork titled \u201cPlumed Serpent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a stylized image of Quetzalcoatl. It was created for the City of San Jose to symbolize the spirit of social harmony and diversity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>What are the origins of the other finalist names?<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nThree of the five finalist options \u2014 Plaza Park, Plaza del Pueblo, and Plaza de San Jose \u2014 are direct nods to former names and historical identities of the site. \u201cPlaza Park\u201d was the park\u2019s official title immediately before it was renamed after Cesar Chavez in 1993. \u201cPlaza del Pueblo\u201d dates back to the site\u2019s Spanish colonial era when it served as the town square. \u201cFarmworkers Plaza\u201d was included to honor the broader labor movement without naming a single individual.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why weren\u2019t figures like Dolores Huerta, Filipino leaders, or other prominent names included?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5993\">Horoscopes August 1, 2026: Jason Momoa, expand your interests and to learn something new<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the case of Dolores Huerta, Bautista said one of the criteria in the policy is \u201cthat an individual must be deceased for at least five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On suggestions related to the Filipino farmworkers\u2019 involvement in the movement, he said \u201cstaff reviewed all the names and the ones with the strongest level of community support through the submittal process advanced to the Ranked Choice Survey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside the official survey, some Filipino American community members floated the idea of \u201cIsang Bagsak Plaza\u201d \u2014 using the Filipino labor call meaning \u201cone fall\u201d to symbolize unity \u2014 or naming the site after prominent Filipino labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had tremendous support from the community in the initial submission process and appreciate everyone who took the time and participated in the process. However, including every eligible name would have created a more difficult ranking exercise,\u201d he said. \u201cLimiting the survey to five options made it easier for residents to complete while still reflecting the leading community suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>When will results be released, and how are votes tracked?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Information from the survey will be released alongside a staff report to the Parks and Recreation Commission in September.<\/p>\n<p>The survey platform does not allow a single device to send more than one response, Bautista said. \u201cThis is the same application we use for our naming process for our new parks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can non-residents vote in the survey?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Parks and Recreation officials said that once the survey closes, staff will review demographic information, including ZIP codes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs this is a City of San Jos\u00e9 park, the intent of the process is to gather input from the San Jos\u00e9 community in selecting a name for their park,\u201d Bautista said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Does the City Council have to follow the survey results?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The survey itself is advisory and \u201cwill provide valuable insight into community preferences that will be considered with the recommendation made to the Parks and Recreation Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the city has heavily encouraged the community to get involved in the renaming process, Bautista noted that the City Council retains ultimate authority over the final decision.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5991\">Dear Abby: Should I ask my friend for her side of this disturbing story?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Jose\u2019s ranked-choice naming survey is open to the public until midnight on Monday, Aug. 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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