San Jose is one step closer to selecting a new name for the city’s popular downtown park, Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
“Plaza de San Jose” was the top pick in a ranked-choice survey of five finalists in which more than 10,000 people expressed their preference.
San Jose’s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department on Tuesday released the results of the poll, which was conducted July 24 through Aug. 3. 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 among other popular names, with Farmworkers Plaza, Plaza del Pueblo and Plaza Park tightly grouped next, followed by Plaza de Quetzalcoatl in fifth.
“Community engagement is fundamental to how we make important decisions that shape the future of San Jose,” City Manager Jennifer Maguire said in a previous statement before the results were announced. “Every survey response helps us better understand the community’s priorities and provides valuable input as we prepare a recommendation for the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council.”
The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission will review the results at a special meeting on Sept. 2 and will make a recommendation to the San Jose City Council, which is expected to take up the issue later that month. 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 original list of community 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. Under current city guidelines, public spaces generally cannot be named for people unless they have been dead for at least five years. Huerta and Alvarado are still living, and it’s unclear if the rule would apply to a group like a musical band.
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. “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.”