Many San Franciscans are reeling from the New York Times report about allegations that United Farm Workers cofounder and Latino icon Cesar Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including his union cofounder Dolores Huerta.
In a 2006 book, his biographer Elizabeth Jacobs noted Chavez’s status as a “folk saint” and called him “one of the greatest leaders of Mexican-American and Chicano people.” His name graces dozens of civic spaces and buildings in California.
But the reverence has swiftly reversed; California lawmakers want to rename Cesar Chavez Day (March 31), which Gov. Gavin Newsom says he supports.
In San Francisco, Chavez’s name adorns an elementary school, the San Francisco State student center — the web site no longer mentions his name — and of course Cesar Chavez Street.
It could soon get the same treatment. It’s been three decades since the city honored Chavez, after a protracted political battle, by renaming Army Street. Three miles long, it connects the waterfront to Diamond Heights, passing through or next to three supervisorial districts. One of those supervisors, board president Rafael Mandelman, said after the revelations that the street name’s “days are numbered.”
Many in San Francisco still recall the fight to change its name 30 years ago, which did not receive universal support at the time; “It’s Still Army Street To Me” bumper stickers and window signs remained visible for years.
So divisive was the fight that one SF supervisor proposed a change to city law to make it more difficult for the board to initiate a street name change. The lawmaker was Gavin Newsom.
His bill didn’t pass, but changing a street name is still easier said than done, and it does indeed require a lot of numbers, not least in the form of dollars.
Due process
In 2018, San Francisco changed Phelan Avenue to Frida Kahlo Way, citing 19th century Mayor James D. Phelan’s racist anti-Chinese politics. (The street was originally named for Phelan’s father.)
But Frida Kahlo Way, which runs through the main campus of City College, is a short, 1,800-foot side route. Cesar Chavez is a critical east-west road where thousands of people live, work, and commute.
One of those people is Andre Webb, manager of Secret Studios, a legacy business at 2200 Cesar Chavez. The music rehearsal and recording space lists its current address on its site but adds that it’s still “Army Street to us locals.”
“I’ve been around since it was Army Street. Now you’re changing the name again that quick?” says Webb, adding that he has concerns about making changes “with no due process.”
“I’m a Black man, I know how this goes,” says Webb.
Changing a street name happens one of two ways in San Francisco. Any supervisor can draft legislation, or a member of the public can petition the Department of Public Works. The signatures must come from owners of properties that abut the street. There’s no specific threshold. Instead, DPW decides if the signatures “indicate a very strong majority” of the property owners.
DPW then confirms the authenticity of the signatures and asks the Planning Department, Fire Department, and Department of Building Inspection if they have objections. For example, SFFD might worry that a new name is too similar to an existing name elsewhere and could create confusion in an emergency. Barring complaint, DPW submits the petition to the Board of Supervisors.
If a supervisor is going to initiate the process, none have yet stepped forward. Sup. Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission and Bernal Heights, told The Frisc, “My office will support community efforts to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from any District 9 institutions” but didn’t say if she would initiate the change. Sup. Shamann Walton, whose district includes Cesar Chavez Street east of Highway 101, did not respond to requests for comment.
Once the SF county surveyor and clerk get official notice, new street signs go up for a transitional period of five years. The signs have the new name on top and the old name lower, in smaller lettering and parentheses.
Some dual-name signs still haven’t been replaced decades after the fact.
Changing place names can run up a large tab. In 2013, when Sup. David Campos proposed changing the name of San Francisco International Airport to honor Harvey Milk, the Office of the Budget and Legislative Analyst estimated $4.1 million to replace 40 road and highway signs, three airport signs, and AirTrain maps and directories. (In the end, Campos elected to add Milk’s name to Terminal 1.)
In 1995, SF budgeted some $20,000 to switch Army to Cesar Chavez, only to get stuck with an additional $900,000 bill from the state (about $1.95 million today), owing in part to the fact that, like the airport proposal, it also required changing dozens of highway signs.
The bill also included labor, traffic control, and administrative costs for the 50-day process of changing every sign on the three-mile stretch. A county transit authority memo last month estimated material costs alone to create a new street sign average $300.
What would a name change mean for those who live and work on Cesar Chavez?
If a switch is in the works, DPW notifies property owners on the street and gives the police and other agencies a heads-up, according to DPW spokesperson Rachel Gordon. “The Board of Supervisors has the power to rename a street with or without public support. The only requirement is that the public must be given the opportunity to state their objections,” Gordon adds.
If a change is successful, the Postal Service will automatically be updated. There’s no need to make a formal change of address, but residents have to update their own government IDs and vehicle registrations.
Tech services like Google and Apple maps are left to update their own records. This can cause confusion if a name change takes years to show up, but it shouldn’t be a problem with a high-profile street like Cesar Chavez.
Businesses have to deal with more than mere inconvenience. “This is a huge unanticipated cost for [a] brick-and-mortar business: Everything that needs to be done when you move has to be done with this,” says San Francisco Small Business Coalition founder Bill Dickenson. “You’ve got to update your insurance, your business license, your liquor license.”
They also might need to reprint or update signs, window lettering, business cards, and other materials. And all those online listings: customers may assume that a business has moved. Office of Small Business spokesperson Michelle Reynolds says business owners can reach out to the OSB for advice. Small business owners who spoke with The Frisc say it’s difficult to estimate how much a change may cost, since each business’ needs are different, but it’s rarely nothing.
Dickenson says the longer the city waits to pull the trigger on a new name the better for businesses. “I’d bet city staff are telling the political people, ‘This is going to take more work than you want to get in front of.’”
Waiting may benefit some, but the seriousness of the charges and the speed with which Chavez’ name is disappearing from other public spheres may pressure city officials to move fast. Sup. Fielder emphasized in her comments to The Frisc that she “stands fully behind the survivors.”