Oct 22, 2026
SF officials have selected Las Campesinas, meaning “female farmworkers” in Spanish, as the proposed new name for Cesar Chavez Street, but some residents and merchants along the three-mile thoroughfare think it’ll be too hard to spell.District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder introduced legislation Tuesday with Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Shamann Walton, and Myrna Melgar to rename the Cesar Chavez Street Las Campesinas, or “female farmworkers” in Spanish, as Mission Local reports. The proposal follows allegations of sexual abuse and assault against farmworker leader Cesar Chavez, with the new name intended to recognize the women whose labor and organizing were central to the movement but often went unrecognized.The street runs from Pier 80 through the Mission District to Douglass Playground in Noe Valley and spans three districts.The name was selected by a 27-member working group convened by Mayor Daniel Lurie and chaired by Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres and former Supervisor Susan Leal, who helped lead the effort to rename Army Street in the 1990s, as SFist reported last month. The group included representatives of supervisors in Districts 8, 9, and 10, whose districts cover the street, as well as small businesses, artists, and labor organizers. According to the Chronicle, after a community meeting at Flynn Elementary School in the Mission last month and an online survey, more than 600 people weighed in, with most favoring Las Campesinas.Other names considered reportedly included Adelante, Cosecha, Sombra, Blossom, and Arroyo, as well as names honoring Chavez’s former collaborators Larry Itlion and Dolores Huerta, who has said Chavez abused her. Torres said Las Campesinas best reflected the group's goal of honoring farmworkers collectively, particularly women who have faced difficult working conditions and sexual harassment.Olga Talamante, an activist and former executive director of the Chicana Latina Foundation who served on the working group, told the Chronicle she welcomed the choice. Talamante, who worked in the fields with her parents and siblings in Gilroy and the Santa Clara Valley, spoke about how her mom woke up early every day to prepare the family’s meals for the day ahead.“It was double work, very palpable and very clear,” said Talamante. “That’s what my mom and most of the women around us did.” But some Mission District residents and merchants have objected to the process, telling the Chronicle they were not adequately consulted and raising concerns about pronunciation, spelling, and the complications of updating business records, addresses, and delivery information. A petition circulated by residents calling for greater transparency had 157 signatures as of last Thursday, with 97% of signers preferring Esperanza or Dahlia. One resident criticized the proposal as a top-down decision that would burden people living and working along the street. Another resident, who said she supported the intention, questioned why the city didn’t pick something a little “shorter and simpler.” The Chronicle notes that property owners would not need to replace their deeds, according to an assessor-recorder spokesperson.The proposed renaming reportedly still needs to clear the Board of Supervisors before moving to the Department of Public Works, which would solicit feedback from property owners and consult city agencies, including the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, and police and fire departments. Mission Local reports that Public Works would then return a resolution to the board, followed by another ordinance and vote.City officials previously estimated that replacing street signs and related markings would cost about $107,000, with address and mapping changes also requiring coordination with the US Postal Service.Previously: SF’s Cesar Chavez Street to Be Renamed ‘Sí Se Puede’ or ‘Las Campesinas’ ...read more read less
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