San Jose’s oldest plaza gets new name

San Jose has a new name for its downtown plaza after months of community engagement, following allegations of sexual abuse against the late civil rights leader César Chávez for whom the space was named. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved renaming the 3.4-acre public space Plaza de San Jose, following a city-led process that drew 10,506 survey responses on the top five potential names. Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, who represents downtown San Jose and the plaza in District 3, said the survey results showed a clear preference for the new name. “There really should be our community members who are in the driver’s seat,” Tordillos said at the meeting. “Plaza de San Jose received more first-choice rankings than the second-place and third-place options combined. The city’s first survey generated 610 name suggestions. Staff reviewed the proposals against the city’s naming policy and consolidated similar suggestions before narrowing the options to five finalists: Plaza de San