San Jose is expected to unveil a ranked-choice voting survey Saturday for a new name for the downtown plaza \u2013 a historic park that has borne the name of iconic labor leader Cesar Chavez for three decades.<\/p>\n
Community members have already submitted at least 600 suggestions, which the city is narrowing down to consolidate similar proposals, ensure eligibility and vet for past controversies, a San Jose parks spokesperson said. While the official list of final contenders remains under wraps as the city screens the entries, the public will get its first look at the proposals when the survey launches Saturday. The survey will run through July 27.<\/p>\n
The public nomination period, which closed on July 7, concludes the first stage of renaming the city\u2019s downtown park,<\/a> San Jose\u2019s most significant landmark bearing Chavez\u2019s name. Officials launched the renaming process last month through an open survey following explosive sexual abuse allegations against Chavez, who once called the city home.<\/p>\n San Jose Parks and Recreation spokesperson Ed Bautista said announcements will be shared on social media, sent through email lists, and posted physically at the park.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want people to take part in the voting,\u201d Bautista said.<\/p>\n Officials did not provide an exact figure on how many names<\/a> they expect to move to the ranked-choice survey.<\/p>\n The Parks and Recreation Commission will review the top choices in September and submit its recommendations to the City Council. While the commission may recommend one or more options, the council will make the final decision by mid-fall.<\/p>\n According to the city\u2019s naming policy, a valid name must meet at least one of several criteria, including a geographic location, a historical event, or an individual \u2013 generally deceased for at least five years \u2013 who made significant contributions to San Jose. Names can also be tied to an individual or group through a donation or sponsorship agreement, though city staff noted this is unlikely given that the renaming process already has begun.<\/p>\n While the plaza is the city\u2019s most prominent landmark recognizing Chavez, other public assets featuring his name or likeness are also under review \u2013 and crews have already begun covering or removing the branding from some locations. Private property featuring his image is not within the city\u2019s control.<\/p>\n Historically, the downtown plaza has gone through several names, including San Jose Plaza and Park Plaza, before it was named Plaza de Cesar Chavez in 1993. 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 San Jose holds deep ties to the labor leader. Born in Arizona, Chavez moved frequently with his farmworker family before settling in the city\u2019s Mayfair neighborhood on the East Side<\/a>, where relatives lived. After serving in the Navy, he married and returned to Mayfair.<\/p>\n By the 1960s, he had relocated to Kern County in the Central Valley, where he co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Dolores Huerta, also a celebrated labor leader. The New York Times investigation alleged that Chavez sexually abused Huerta and fathered two of her children.<\/p>\n While Huerta\u2019s name has emerged as a popular choice for renaming efforts in other cities, San Jose residents have told news organization they are pitching their own ideas.<\/p>\n Community members this organization spoke to expressed a desire to restore the park\u2019s old name, San Jose Plaza. Others said they are hoping to secure an exemption from the five-year-deceased rule to honor living local figures \u2013 such as Blanca Alvarado, San Jose\u2019s first Latina councilmember, or the legendary Mexican norte\u00f1o group Los Tigres del Norte<\/a>, widely considered one of the most influential Bay Area bands of all time.<\/p>\n A local Filipino American organization suggested that the city honor the often-overlooked role of Filipino farmworkers in the labor movement by renaming the space \u201cIsang Bagsak Plaza.\u201d The phrase \u2013 Filipino for \u201cone fall\u201d \u2013 references a historic rallying cry used to express unity between Filipino and Latino farmworkers, who made up the majority of the state\u2019s agricultural labor force at the time.<\/p>\n Residents can keep track of the renaming process on the city\u2019s Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services website<\/a> and social media channels, or direct inquiries via email to parkplanning@sanjoseca.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Jose is expected to unveil a ranked-choice voting survey Saturday for a new name for the downtown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,8,409,418,1533,181,23,100,182,13,88,5500,90,89,5278,198,200],"class_list":["post-399589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-city-politics","tag-history","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pm-report","tag-politics","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-city-council","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-politics","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-south-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}