{"id":488680,"date":"2026-10-08T01:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T01:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/488680\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T01:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T01:56:11","slug":"sacramento-commission-votes-against-renaming-cesar-chavez-plaza-to-union-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/488680\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento commission votes against renaming Cesar Chavez Plaza to Union Plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

A furor has erupted in Sacramento after officials refused to rename the city\u2019s Cesar Chavez <\/a>Plaza \u2018Union Plaza\u2019 despite the name winning a popular vote \u2013 claiming it doesn\u2019t adequately honor Mexican heritage. <\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s Parks and Community Enrichment Commission decided the rename the plaza \u2013 a historic one-block public park and civic square in downtown Sacramento \u2013 after state-wide outcry over allegations the labor leader sexually abused and raped<\/a> multiple women and young girls.<\/p>\n

Cesar Chavez Plaza is situated in front of the City Hall building on Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Sacramento, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n

After the city decided to rename the 175-year-old plaza, more that 2,600 locals provided input on the renaming process, with Union Plaza receiving the most votes with 450. <\/p>\n

After Union Plaza, there were 243 votes for Dolores Huerta Park and 198 votes for Farmworkers Plaza to round out the top three options. Many on social media rolled eyes over the naming debate, with a couple demanding a reversion to the original name, Plaza Park.<\/p>\n

However, now some commissioners have claimed Union Plaza is not suitable as it does not adequately honor Mexican-American heritage, KCRA reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A few commission members said they were hesitant on veering away from the popular vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have now erased the legacy of the people from that plaza, and we\u2019ve erased the identity of the people who built that legacy, and to me it does not feel thoughtful, it does not feel intentional, it does not feel inclusive, it does not feel ethical,\u201d said Commissioner Monique Langer.<\/p>\n

Commission chair, Jeanine Gaines, said: \u201cI didn\u2019t necessarily like it, but I don\u2019t know if my feelings can push me to outweigh what the people said.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty speaks during the \u2018California Big City Mayors Summit\u2019 outside of City Hall in San Francisco, Oct. 22, 2025. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Now the body has decided to explore different names, with commission considering consulting local groups with Mexican American interests. <\/p>\n

No timeline has been set for the next round of consultation, but any new name with go to the city\u2019s council for final approval.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty<\/a>\u00a0said for now, Union Plaza will still be the new name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect our advisory Parks Commission, but will disagree with their action and proceed accordingly with the community-supported name change to Union Plaza,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

United Farm Workers labor leader Cesar Chavez speaks during a news conference on Friday, May 24, 1968, at an unknown location. ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n

Sacramento realtor Steve Walker was one of many on social media to slam the commission\u2019s decision to explore names other than the original, Plaza Park, which was what the square was called before it was renamed to honor the disgraced union leader in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with the original name of Plaza Park? It was totally inclusive and it\u2019s historically correct,\u201d he said on Facebook.<\/a><\/p>\n

Brin Londeaux<\/a> agreed, adding: \u201dMaybe they shouldn\u2019t name places after people, in case they wind up becoming politically problematic down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said officials would work to get as much consensus as possible on any new name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to work to find a suitable solution that works for as many as possible,\u201d Pluckebaum, who represents the area where the park is located, told the Sacramento Bee<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A furor has erupted in Sacramento after officials refused to rename the city\u2019s Cesar Chavez Plaza \u2018Union Plaza\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[16847,4182,266,1725,13,121,123,122,15836,3586],"class_list":["post-488680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-cesar-chavez","tag-metro","tag-northern-california","tag-parks","tag-politics","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sexual-abuse","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488680","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=488680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}