FRESNO, Calif. – A 30-year effort to rename a corridor of three Fresno streets in honor of late farm labor activist Cesar Chavez hit another roadblock this week.
On Tuesday, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reject the name change on street sections that fall within county jurisdiction.
The county vote preserves the names of California Avenue and Kings Canyon Road which are along the south Fresno corridor city leaders are looking to rename “Cesar Chavez Boulevard.” The corridor is a 10.25 mile stretch that includes Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Street and California Avenue.
Supervisors expressed frustration over what they say was the city’s lack of communication about a process that they felt needed more community input.
Supervisor Nathan Magsig said there has been very little engagement with the county throughout the entire process.
“We just heard from our CAO [County Administrative Officer] saying that the only formal conversation that took place was April 3rd, which was really just a mere 10 days ago. And so that really is unacceptable,” said Magsig.
The Fresno City Council first approved the renaming process on March 9. The city resolution to rename the corridor passed six to one and was scheduled to come back for a second vote as a city ordinance – but instead was enacted on March 20.
That's because Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer returned an empty veto slip to the Fresno City Clerk, which allowed the resolution to pass and “required no further action by the City Council.”
In its own resolution this week, the board of supervisors claimed the city violated its own commitment to community input in the process.
“By the city council’s own admission, that commitment was violated — with home and business owners and community groups not included or even made aware of the proposed name change.”
One of the first people in line to give public comment on the resolution at the board meeting Tuesday was Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias.
“I'd like to be very clear that our city does not need, nor do we seek the permission of the County of Fresno to proceed with our action to recognize the contributions of Cesar Estrada Chavez, a Latino hero in our city,” said Arias.
He pushed back on accusations that the city didn’t communicate the change to residents and businesses.
“We did notify the residents. A year ago, we received their opposition letter from county residents in Sunnyside. How would they know to write in opposition if they were not notified?” he asked.
The City Council brought back discussions on the name change in February 2022. It was approved for initiation in June 2022, when the council allocated a million dollars from the budget to pay costs associated with implementing the name change.
But Steve Brandau, one of the supervisors who sponsored the resolution to reject the name change, said constituents mostly remained unaware of the renaming effort.
“Every time that I asked the question to many different individuals, ‘Were you told about this ahead of time?’ the answer was always 'no,'” Brandau said.
Several speakers affirmed the county’s position during public comment. Aletha Lang is a county resident in the Sunnyside area.
“I did want to make that very clear that we were never [notified]. We've had petitions signed. Hundreds of people signing that they knew nothing about it,” Lang said.
Other speakers voiced support for the name change.
Martha Valladarez, an SEIU union member, spoke about Cesar Chavez’s important contributions to farm workers as a source of pride for her family.
“Let us Hispanics have a name that says Cesar Chavez for our kids,” Valladarez said.
Many speakers acknowledged how other street names like California Avenue resonate culturally with Fresno’s African-Americans community. Supervisor Brian Pacheco echoed that while recognizing the cultural importance of Cesar Chavez.
“I am not opposed to naming a road after Cesar Chavez in any way shape or form. I am opposed to erasing one culture over another, or putting one above another because we're all equal in this country,” Pacheco said.
Board chairman Sal Quintero spoke about his experience working with Cesar Chavez, first meeting Chavez when he organized a union with Quintero’s older brother.
“I believe if he were alive today, he would decline the name change and the million dollars to help businesses and residents with the address changes. I believe he'd say there are greater needs in our community,” Quintero said.
Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez, one of the sponsors of the name change resolution, said the city still plans to move forward with its portion of the renaming.
“The city will honor the county’s vote and proceed with only the segment that is 100% under the city’s jurisdiction,” he said.
