A sculpture of Cesar Chavez stands, uncovered, in Cesar Chavez Plaza on Sept. 8, 2026. Created by artist Lisa Reinertson, the sculpture was covered earlier this year after a New York Times story reported allegations of abuse against women.
HECTOR AMEZCUA
hamezcua@sacbee.com
A citizen commission rejected the top suggestion for renaming Cesar E. Chavez Plaza, asking that the committee in charge of the renaming effort seek a name that honors the city’s Mexican and Indigenous heritage.
Last week city staff announced their recommendation to rename the park on I Street in front of Old City Hall in downtown Sacramento, choosing the inclusive “Union Plaza” to recognize both the history of laborers who built the region and to inspire unity. The announcement came six months after allegations of rape and sexual assault were levied against the late labor organizer, sparking a national reckoning with his legacy as an iconic civil rights leader.
After community outreach and a survey garnering more than 2,600 responses, city staff and a subcommittee composed of four city council members selected Union Plaza as its top recommendation to rename the park, but the body of representatives tasked with reviewing the recommendation rejected it.
The broad sentiment of the Parks and Community Enrichment Commission, an advisory board whose approval was sought before advancing the proposal to the City Council for final say, was that the suggested name was too broad and did not adequately represent Sacramento’s Mexican and Indigenous heritage.
“That was one of the first if not the first Mexican-American, Mexican-descendant names that we saw on city infrastructure — it was very meaningful to the community,” Langer said. “And while a man may do terrible, horrible things, and while we may not want to recognize that man anymore, what this is, is essentially erasure of a community who fought. This is essentially taking apart the legacy that was built not just by one man, but by an entire movement of people.”
The commission voted 6-3 that the subcommittee reconsider the renaming, recommending that they convene with local Mexican American groups and focus on preserving the “original heritage intent of the park.”
Because the commission is advisory, the subcommittee can opt to bypass their recommendation and put the name before the City Council for approval. There are existing tensions between the city and its advisory boards, with members frequently expressing frustration that city leaders fail to take their recommendations seriously.
“We will continue to work to find a suitable solution that works for as many as possible,” said Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who represents the area where the park is located.
Union Plaza received the highest level of support in the city’s survey with 450 responses, less than 20% of the total. The second-most supported name in the survey was Dolores Huerta Park, named after the 96-year-old labor and feminist activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Chavez in 1966.
“While I do appreciate that there was a large number of votes for ‘Union Park’ I think in this instance that the largest number of votes doesn’t have to be the clear winner,” commissioner Victoria Vasquez said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 10:21 AM.
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Jennah Pendleton covers the city of Sacramento for The Sacramento Bee. She previously reported on local schools. Before joining The Bee, she wrote about education and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of the University of Oregon.