On Tuesday, city council members voted unanimously to rapidly drop Chavez\u2019s name from Campesino Park and other city facilities as well as to negotiate employee contracts to rename or replace Cesar Chavez Day with a floating holiday.<\/p>\n
Mayor Valerie Amezcua, who called for expunging Chavez\u2019s name and imagery from city properties, said the Farmworkers movement was bigger than one person and hits home for many working class families in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was about the farm workers. It was about all of them who worked out there doing hard labor,\u201d Amezcua said at the meeting. \u201cNot one person, including any of us up here, should become far more important, in my opinion, than the work that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amezcua also said the city has to recognize Chavez\u2019s victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can never ever downplay that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CesarChavez-SantaAna-Randazza-2026_-10.jpg\")
The sign for Cesar Chavez Campesino Park in Santa Ana. JAKE RANDAZZO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, who also called for the park\u2019s name to be changed and is running for state assembly, said the community should be involved in the name change and the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of families that come from people that worked in the fields. I have residents that have reached out and have said, \u2018I used to pick strawberries,\u2019\u201d Lopez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is really a moment for everybody on this dais and off this diocese to really do better and be better and treat people with respect, and whether it\u2019s misogyny or abuse of any kind, I think it\u2019s important that we all figure a path forward to just be better members of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilman Johnathan Hernandez said the city has to stand with the victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen and children were harmed by Cesar Chavez. As a father to a 16-year-old daughter, I am proud to stand with those women and children who have bravely come forward and ensuring that Cesar Chavez is not uplifted and celebrated in the city of Santa Ana,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Santa Ana Grapples With Cesar Chavez Landmarks<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CesarChavez-SantaAna-Randazza-2026_-11.jpg\")
A plaque at Cesar Chavez Campesino park in Santa Ana. JAKE RANDAZZO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
In the midst of the fall out, Cesar Chavez Campesino Park will revert to its original pre-2001 name \u2013\u00a0 Campesino Park.<\/p>\n
Councilman Phil Bacerra echoed Amezcua\u2019s remarks and said that many Filipinos were part of the farmworkers movement too, calling the original name more inclusive of the workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe return of the name of this park to Campesino Park is reflective of how inclusive the farm worker movement was and the fact that there are a lot of Filipinos that feel like they were ignored and they feel like that they were cast aside despite the valuable contributions that they brought to the farm worker movement,\u201d Bacerra said.<\/p>\n
According to a staff report, there is a formal process to rename parks in the city by going through the planning commission<\/a> but staff are recommending officials ignore the procedure and act quickly to change the name.<\/p>\n \u201cStaff does not anticipate significant risk in proceeding as recommended. To the<\/p>\n contrary, staff finds that there may be greater potential harm in allowing the name to<\/p>\n remain, even temporarily, given the current context and community concerns,\u201d reads the report.<\/p>\n It is not just the park.<\/p>\n City officials will also be covering public art and murals of Chavez like the one in Jerome Park while they work with the artists to get them removed.<\/p>\n Officials will also look at renaming Cesar Chavez Day \u2013 a paid holiday \u2013\u00a0 to Farmworkers Day or even sit down with employee unions to discuss making it a floating holiday.<\/p>\n It comes after Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation at the tail end of March immediately renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day.<\/p>\n Staff estimates expunging Chavez\u2019s name and image from city properties could cost up to $15,000.<\/p>\n Reckoning With The Legacy of an Alleged Abuser<\/p>\n Elected officials across OC and California are having a reckoning with the multiple monuments that bear the name or face of Chavez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union who was once widely celebrated across the state.<\/p>\n [Read: Orange County Reckons With Cesar Chavez Landmarks Following Sexual Assault Allegations<\/a>]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/148A3376.jpg\")
C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez High School in Santa Ana on March 24, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n