Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s open to renaming César Chávez Day in California after sex abuse allegations
Newsom said he and the first partner were “very close” with Huerta and “none of us knew.”
Well, I appreciate the question and and and it’s an appropriate one. I mean we’re all absorbing, you know we heard some rumors as early as yesterday, *** few days ago someone said something may be coming out, an investigation as it relates to this, and you know this is, it’s March 30, I think at the end of the month, Cesar Chavez Day, and you know every year the governor of California proclaims Cesar Chavez Day, it’s in the statute, um, and uh how many days I’ve marched, um, how many times I’ve been with students, you know, talking about. Uh, the movement and how many photographs I have in my house of Bobby Kennedy and Cesar Chavez, uh, woke up this morning, he was right there, uh, and, um, and so it’s been hard to absorb this, you know, Jen and I are very close with Dolores, so many of us are, uh, but very close. I’ve been for decades and decades, and none of us knew. And we were sharing all this and so we’re just I think all of us are processing it um and. You know, and, and just these kids have to process it now. I mean, I think there’s Brooks. I don’t know was 3 dozen schools in the state are named after Cesar Chavez. I don’t know, community in the country. I traveled to 14 states last few weeks. I, I think I was, you know, in 14 Cesar Chavez Streets in every part of this country, so we’re just gonna have to reflect on all of that and, you know, reflect on *** farm workers movement and *** labor movement that was much bigger than one man. And celebrate that. Uh, and, and, and that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are, but I also am mindful that it’s one thing for. Meet *** process for some of us it’s for the young kids this is hard. And so I hope we have some grace in that respect is they wonder if there is *** name change. Their identity to their school to This icon that they thought one thing of and how we process that shift um and so you know this is you know. This is the world we’re living in and we’re for justice, we’re for the truth, we’re for transparency. We want to have the backs of our victims, but it’s *** sensitive, sensitive moment. Yeah, I mean, I, I said, I’m just processing this within, you know, hours of I just read the article this morning, um, didn’t, didn’t, I, as I said, there was never an indication all these years, um, you know, particularly, I spent so many. So many, so much time with Dolores and now I have 2 kids. I mean it was, you know, just *** lot to process. So look, I, I think, uh, again it’s about the movement, it’s about farm workers, it’s about labor, um, it’s about social justice, uh, economic justice, racial justice, um, all things that, uh, that, uh, the movement. Um, uh, um, you know, has inspired, and, uh, we should all be celebrating. Governor, prevention in terms of prevention, I’m curious to get your take. What does it say about the systems that have been in place? The legend Well, it’s not unique to California. I mean this has all been highlighted in pretty, uh, you know, three dimensional ways and Epstein and all the rest. I mean this is *** broader culture. I mean this literally goes to the heart of the work I’m the last, you know, I’m, I’m here with someone who’s been at this for decades, my wife who’s been calling this out for decades, has done 7 documentaries calling out the why, the systems, what we just signed in the executive order. Goes to start to address those issues. I, I just, it’s amazing how lazy we are that we’re not getting under the hood and dealing with the real structural reasons why it’s about power it’s about dominance, aggression, it’s not about empathy, care, compassion, it’s not about women and girls, it’s not been, you know, it’s not been the priority now it’s all being washed away in real time. You’re seeing this move by current administration to put America in reverse on voting rights highlighted the save Act conversations, civil rights writ large and. Anti-woke legislation, anti-DEI legislation, um, and, uh, and so, you know, all of those are just prove points of the work we have to do, but, uh, they’re deeper and systemic, and they’re, they’re bigger than our state. The good diff the difference is though in our state we’ve been pushing back against *** lot of those forces, but we have *** lot of institutional work still to do. Just one second, I’ll get you. Yeah, yeah, look, I would. Yeah, no, I appreciate it and, and look, I, yeah, I’m open, obviously these are brand new conversations, so we’re having conversations in *** very public way right now, uh, but those are important conversations I think we need to have those conversations. I think that’s the right, um, thing to do, um, but you know, we start to unpack all this and dive *** little bit deeper, seek first to understand before we’re understood, um, before we jump to the next steps, and so this, you know, this. There’s *** sense of urgency on that in the context of this being you know *** month we celebrate the life and times of *** figure we’ve long embraced and revered and so now we’re learning more and we have to be there for the back of the victims and we have to make sure truth and trust is restored and we have to make sure we’re transparent and people are accountable in that context. Yeah. Jeremy, I wasn’t exaggerating. I was brushing my teeth. There they were to the right. Yeah, that’s, that’s the first photo I wake up to, uh, black and white photo. This, you know, it’s, I’ve talked to you, you know, in the past, I, you know, I talk about my wife standing up to ideals, striking out against injustice, so much of it is captured. In the vernacular of those times and you know and Sarge Shriver and Bobby and Cesar and um you know solving the even the language I wasn’t. I wasn’t being loose in my language *** moment ago. I talked in the context of this press conference about solving for ignorance, poverty and disease. That’s the language of the sixties. That’s what they represented and uh but there was *** hard-headed pragmatism as well that uh defined that um their work and so yeah, no, it’s, it’s, it’s difficult and as I say I was uh you know, it is even more difficult just, you know, you know, learning more about someone I know so well. Uh, like Dolores, and, uh, so you know I, I think you know again Jen and I, it’s hard to, I don’t want to overstate because I think everyone shares this with Dolores. Uh, she’s 96 years young, she’s ubiquitous, she’s everywhere, um, and we all feel like we know her. We all feel like she knows us and so you know all of this is sort of captured *** moment where you know you know requires *** little more reflection, uh, *** little more understanding, um, uh, and, and I, you know, we need *** little bit of space but we need to move. If we need to move we’ll, we’ll do so together we’ll talk to the caucuses. There are already conversations at the staff level and you can imagine Sacramento, those are. You know, those are robust right now. You’ll have some reporting and shortly and I’ll learn more as well about those conversations. Not, not yet. There you go. um I, uh. Tengo muchos, um, sentimentos for Doloresilla mujeres que quera nias and I say epoca they um. Valencia. I say yosi um la mujeres san and nuestros corazoneus yo tengo mucho respeto pores uh compartir sus sus um cuentas porque sus mil. I pero porque ana blando esobaudar mas mojeres. In nias in ninos blar deascorsas muifeas and estra sociedad anduesa cultura esos mu importantte porque tenemos un problema mui grande el mundo compoder yumbres compoder que asencosas muima la mujeres noineque mira masque la noticia de loquea pasado por Anos K Epstein. Quinn Cosby. Go on Weinstein. Cohen. Bueno mas hombres la mayoria de los hombreson buenas personas pero ayalgunos quean echo tantas cosas feas it tenemosque. Decerno masesoshombres gracias. To, but when you talk about leveling. What Mm. We, we highlight *** lot of the statistics in the executive order which only reinforce this. We also highlight some of the efforts in the past as it relates to our efforts to diversify boards to get more pay equity information made available in public, more transparent, uh, the fits and starts in this space, but clearly we have more work to do and that’s highlighted by this work group that Jen put together and Jen, perhaps you can speak *** little bit more about that. I myself. I’m still shaking *** little bit about Dolores. And all these young women. So I want you to say something first and I’ll jump in. I’m just, it’s *** lot. It’s like we’re living in really tough times and you know, this war on women isn’t new. It goes way, way back centuries. Enough is enough. So, It’s got to end. It’s got to end in my lifetime. You want to say something? OK, after that set up, it’s hard. OK, sorry.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s open to renaming César Chávez Day in California after sex abuse allegations
Newsom said he and the first partner were “very close” with Huerta and “none of us knew.”
Updated: 1:38 PM PDT Mar 18, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that he is open to renaming César Chávez Day in California following sex abuse allegations against the late labor and civil rights leader.César Chávez Day was named after the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America and became a state holiday in 2000. It is commemorated on March 31. The New York Times reported on Wednesday allegations that Chávez sexually abused two underage girls in the 1970s. Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the UFW said that Chávez also sexually abused her and two sexual encounters resulted in her giving birth to children in secret. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom addressed the allegations during a press conference at San Lorenzo High School in the Bay Area. The governor attended the event to sign an executive order related to expand financial literacy resources for students. But the majority of the questions the governor took revolved around Chávez.“We’re all absorbing, you know, we heard rumors as early as yesterday, a few days ago, someone said something may be coming out, an investigation as relates to this,” Newsom said. He noted the state holiday is set to take place at the end of the month. “How many days I marched, how many times I’ve been with students, you know, talking about the movement and how many photographs I have in my house of Bobby Kennedy, César Chávez.” He added that he and the first partner were “very close” with Huerta and “none of us knew.” “And so we’re just, I think all of us are processing it,” he said. Newsom noted that dozens of schools are named after Chávez, along with streets across the country. “So we’re just going to have to reflect on all of that and, you know, reflect on a farmworkers movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man and celebrate that,” he said. “And that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are.”Newsom said he had not yet spoken directly to legislative leaders. Republican Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, meanwhile, filed legislation on Wednesday to rename the holiday to Farmworker Day.During Wednesday’s event, Siebel Newsom gave brief remarks in Spanish and said she was pained for Huerta and the other victims who were children when they were molested. “And, you know, this war on women isn’t new. It goes way, way back, centuries,” she said. “Enough is enough. So it’s got to end.” (Video below: Who is Dolores Huerta?)See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SAN LORENZO, Calif. —
Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that he is open to renaming César Chávez Day in California following sex abuse allegations against the late labor and civil rights leader.
César Chávez Day was named after the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America and became a state holiday in 2000. It is commemorated on March 31.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday allegations that Chávez sexually abused two underage girls in the 1970s. Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the UFW said that Chávez also sexually abused her and two sexual encounters resulted in her giving birth to children in secret.
Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom addressed the allegations during a press conference at San Lorenzo High School in the Bay Area. The governor attended the event to sign an executive order related to expand financial literacy resources for students. But the majority of the questions the governor took revolved around Chávez.
“We’re all absorbing, you know, we heard rumors as early as yesterday, a few days ago, someone said something may be coming out, an investigation as relates to this,” Newsom said.
He noted the state holiday is set to take place at the end of the month.
“How many days I marched, how many times I’ve been with students, you know, talking about the movement and how many photographs I have in my house of Bobby Kennedy, César Chávez.”
He added that he and the first partner were “very close” with Huerta and “none of us knew.”
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At unrelated press conference in the Bay Area, I asked Gov. Newsom for his reaction to allegations against Cesar Chavez and if he’s open to renaming the day in California.
He noted those conversations are happening and many are processing the news.
“None of us knew.” pic.twitter.com/XOjezKyVLi
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 18, 2026
“And so we’re just, I think all of us are processing it,” he said.
Newsom noted that dozens of schools are named after Chávez, along with streets across the country.
“So we’re just going to have to reflect on all of that and, you know, reflect on a farmworkers movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man and celebrate that,” he said. “And that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are.”
Newsom said he had not yet spoken directly to legislative leaders.
Republican Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, meanwhile, filed legislation on Wednesday to rename the holiday to Farmworker Day.
During Wednesday’s event, Siebel Newsom gave brief remarks in Spanish and said she was pained for Huerta and the other victims who were children when they were molested.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom gave remarks in Spanish on Cesar Chavez allegations.
“I feel so much for Dolores Huerta and the women who were girls,” she said.
“What’s happened over the years with Epstein, Crosby, Weinstein… we need to say no more.” pic.twitter.com/Go97xyuCgG
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) March 18, 2026
“And, you know, this war on women isn’t new. It goes way, way back, centuries,” she said. “Enough is enough. So it’s got to end.”
(Video below: Who is Dolores Huerta?)
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel