When The New York Times on March 18 published its groundbreaking story (opens in new tab) on the late Cesar Chavez’s alleged sexual abuse of women and girls in the farmworker movement, California sprang into action. 

The mayor of Sacramento immediately announced that the city would rename the plaza across from City Hall. The next day, cities and counties began renaming Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day. (The state followed suit a week later.) On March 20, workers in San Jose covered (opens in new tab) an engraving of the disgraced labor leader’s name in a central plaza, and the mayor of San Diego signed an executive order (opens in new tab) to rename a parkway and other city assets. Less than a week after the story dropped, L.A. began the process (opens in new tab) of renaming parks, libraries, and a six-mile avenue. In April, crews pried (opens in new tab) the metal letters bearing Chavez’s name from a UC Berkeley student center.

San Francisco, meanwhile, has convened a working group. 

The mayor’s office said that former supervisor Susan Leal — who led the push to name Cesar Chavez Street three decades ago — and assessor-recorder Joaquín Torres will co-chair the body, which will seek feedback from residents and business owners along the 3.5-mile thoroughfare. They are working on recruiting additional members.

“We know how important it is for issues of this magnitude to be handled with intention and community engagement that includes the diversity of voices necessary to make this process successful,” Torres said. “This working group has now been established and is moving forward.”

No SF legislator has introduced a bill to rename the street, which stretches from Noe Valley to Dogpatch. One reason could be that Supervisor Jackie Fielder, whose District 9 includes almost all of Cesar Chavez Street, is on leave, and supervisors generally don’t interfere in one another’s districts. 

To be fair, it doesn’t seem to be a top issue for most San Franciscans. Among residents and business owners interviewed shortly after the revelations about Chavez, there was no clear consensus on renaming the street. Farmworker leader Dolores Huerta — who told the Times that Chavez raped her — said she doesn’t want the honor.

It would cost approximately $66,000 to replace the sidewalk engravings along the street and $50,000 for the street signs, per the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. That does not account for the cost to businesses named after the street that would need to update their signage, websites, and stationery. 

Renaming streets can be controversial simply because it creates logistical headaches. The last time San Francisco renamed a major corridor was in 1995, when it rechristened Army Street as Cesar Chavez Street. Opponents of the renaming cast the process as costly and performative but lost at the ballot box.