{"id":445264,"date":"2026-08-27T16:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/445264\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T16:46:09","slug":"san-jose-officials-to-weigh-new-name-for-downtown-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/445264\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose officials to weigh new name for downtown plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

A name change for one of downtown San Jose\u2019s most recognizable public gathering places is moving closer to a decision, after thousands of residents weighed in on what the plaza should be called.<\/p>\n

The Parks and Recreation Commission on Sept. 2 is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council on renaming Plaza de C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, following the results of the city\u2019s community engagement process. City staff recommend the space be renamed Plaza de San Jose, which received the most support in the city\u2019s ranked-choice survey. More than 10,500 people participated, with 4,116 selecting Plaza de San Jose as their first choice.<\/p>\n

Other names in the running<\/a> included Plaza del Pueblo, Farmworkers Plaza, Plaza de Quetzalcoatl and Plaza Park. The city council will have the final say on the plaza\u2019s new name at a later date.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased with the process that we put together to make sure that renaming the plaza wasn\u2019t a top-town decision, but a community effort to rename a longstanding, vibrant community space,\u201d Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, whose District 3 includes the plaza, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cOur decision should reflect that, because this park belongs to the people of San Jose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results are the latest\u00a0in San Jose\u2019s effort to rename<\/a> the nearly 250-year-old downtown gathering place<\/a> following community listening sessions and a suggested name submission period. Councilmembers voted earlier this year to begin removing Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s name<\/a> from city-owned sites following allegations<\/a> that the late labor leader sexually abused women and children<\/a>. Ch\u00e1vez called San Jose home<\/a>\u00a0at various points in his life and has\u00a0long been celebrated<\/a> in the city.<\/p>\n

Ed Bautista, spokesperson for San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, said the name Plaza de San Jose reflects themes that emerged during the city\u2019s resident engagement process, including community connection, history and legacy, representation, belonging, cultural diversity and shared pride in San Jose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community looked at the names and found one that really fits all those values,\u201d Bautista told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n

The city also made a concerted effort to engage Latino and farmworker communities during the process, Bautista said, including through listening sessions and translated outreach.<\/p>\n

But some residents who have long known the space as Plaza de C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez have mixed feelings about changing its name.<\/p>\n

Jay Tala, a lifelong San Jose resident, said he\u2019s\u00a0surprised to learn the city\u00a0is considering renaming the plaza. He questioned whether the city should remove the names of historical figures<\/a> based on allegations about their past, and said many prominent figures have complicated histories.<\/p>\n

Everybody makes mistakes,\u201d Tala told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cEveryone\u2019s failed at some point in their life\u00a0and everyone\u2019s made a bad decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"In-line<\/a><\/p>\n

Other\u00a0residents said the allegations against Ch\u00e1vez have changed how they view his place in the city\u2019s public spaces.<\/p>\n

Longtime resident Philip Nones\u00a0said he supports changing the plaza\u2019s name. He said the allegations against Ch\u00e1vez make him an inappropriate person to honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that a role model?\u201d Nones told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIs that somebody you should hold up as \u2026 \u2018our kind of guy?\u2019 No, he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or @CasasPerezRed on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A name change for one of downtown San Jose\u2019s most recognizable public gathering places is moving closer to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[712,88,90,89],"class_list":["post-445264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-centerpiece","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445264","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=445264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}