AUSTIN (KXAN) — Four Austin City Council members called on the city manager to develop a community outreach plan to potentially rename Cesar Chavez Street, following allegations of abuse involving labor activist Cesar Chavez that surfaced in March, according to a recent memo.
The memo was signed by Council Members Vanessa Fuentes, José Velásquez, Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, and Mayor Pro Tem José “Chito” Vela. The memo says the plan should include the following:
- A series of hybrid listening sessions with at least two in person sessions and one virtual session
- An online survey for the general public
- A stakeholder survey for residents and businesses located on East and West Cesar Chavez Street to understand the impacts of renaming the street
The memo also calls for the city manager to work with multiple city departments — including the Equity Office and Transportation and Public Works — and to engage Latino community leaders, residents and businesses in the area. It also requests an assessment of the costs associated with renaming the street for both the city and those living or operating businesses along Cesar Chavez Street.
Several alternative names have already emerged as contenders for changing the street’s name. In March, community advocacy group El Concilio Mexican-American Land Owners de East Austin said it plans to ask the mayor and City Council to change the name of Cesar Chavez Street back to its original title, First Street.
Another proposal circulating includes renaming the street after Jorge Pastore, an Austin police SWAT officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2023. Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said Pastore did “everything he possibly could to keep” Austin safe…