San Jose residents only have a day left to cast their votes on what Plaza de Cesar Chavez downtown should be renamed.
On Sunday, families flocked downtown so their kids could cool off in the fountains. And while many here still refer to this spot as Plaza de Cesar Chavez, after more than three decades that’s no longer the official name.
The city launched a renaming process in June following explosive sexual abuse allegations against Chavez.
After receiving more than 600 suggestions, the city has narrowed down the new names to these five and is asking residents to vote.
- The options are
- Farmworkers Plaza
- Plaza de Quetzalcoatl
- Plaza de San Jose
- Plaza de Pueblo
- Plaza Park.
Carlos Valencia of San Jose has already picked his favorite.
“I would choose Plaza de San Jose. It’s a simple name. It represents San Jose culture, and you really don’t wanna complicate things by selecting a name that you can’t pronounce. Plaza de San Jose is the perfect match name for the plaza,” he said.
Carmen Guerra also likes the name plaza de San Jose.
“Because that’s the name of the city and it’s also in front of San Jose State University and I think the information will be more easy for tourist who visit San Jose,” she said.
Some residents asked why it wasn’t an option to name the 2-acre park after labor icon Dolores Huerta.
That’s because the city’s naming policy requires a proposed name to meet specific criteria such as representing a geographic location, a historical event or an individual who typically must’ve been deceased for at least five years.
Residents are asked to go to the city’s website and rank their choices by midnight Monday in a survey.
The results will be presented to the parks and recreation commission on Sept. 2 and the commission will forward its recommendation to the city council, which will make the final decision on the park’s new name.
