San Jose Commission Recommends 'Plaza del Pueblo de San Jose' as New Name for Plaza de César Chávez

Downtown San Jose's best-known gathering place is one step closer to a new name. On Wednesday, the city's Parks and Recreation Commission voted to recommend renaming Plaza de César Chávez to Plaza del Pueblo de San Jose, San José Spotlight reported. The City Council has the final say and will take up the name at a later date.

A blend of two finalists

The new name was proposed during the meeting by Commissioner Daisy Barocio. It combines two of the five finalists from the city's survey: Plaza de San Jose, which city staff had recommended, and Plaza del Pueblo. Barocio told the Spotlight she did not want the city to lose sight of the Latino history behind the plaza's 1993 naming, and noted that San Jose itself began as a pueblo.

Why the name is changing

City leaders began moving to remove Chávez's name from city sites in March, after allegations surfaced that the late labor leader abused women and children. The city then ran a public process. Residents submitted 610 suggestions; about 178 were ruled out under city naming rules, which bar honoring living people and require a tie to San Jose. A parks spokesperson told the Spotlight in July that the remaining ideas were grouped and narrowed largely by how often they came up.

The five finalists were Plaza de San Jose, Plaza del Pueblo, Farmworkers Plaza, Plaza de Quetzalcoatl and Plaza Park. A ranked-choice survey drew 10,506 responses, and Plaza de San Jose earned the top weighted score, with 4,116 people ranking it first.

Not everyone is on board

Some speakers at Wednesday's meeting wanted a name that more clearly reflected the city's Mexican and Indigenous roots. One urged Plaza de Quetzalcoatl, after the Mesoamerican "Feathered Serpent" deity whose image appears in the plaza's "Plumed Serpent" sculpture. Another suggested giving the plaza a formal name while letting people use an everyday one. Earlier in the process, some residents told the Spotlight they opposed renaming the plaza at all.

Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, whose District 3 includes the plaza, said in August that the decision should reflect a community-driven process because the park "belongs to the people of San Jose."