Lawsuit filed over Fresno’s new street named for Cesar Chavez. Are its claims ‘anti-Latino?’

A group of residents has sued the city of Fresno over its decision to rename a major thoroughfare after labor leader Cesar Chavez – a lawsuit that at least one councilmember describes as “racist.”

The 43-page complaint, which was filed July 10 in Fresno County Superior Court, alleges the city didn’t properly include public input when it voted to rename a stretch of Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Avenue/Ventura Street and California Avenue in southeast and southwest Fresno to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.

The lawsuit claims the city didn’t take into account the “historic” nature of the existing street names and also didn’t consider the financial impact of the name change on thousands of residents and businesses along the corridor.

The city council’s renaming decision is a “direct attack” on west Fresno’s Black community, the city’s Armenian community and the businesses near those streets, the lawsuit says, and an effort to “hoist their ‘hero’ Cesar Chavez, above all other historical, cultural and financial considerations.”

The lawsuit claims the city is violating free speech and free association by compelling members to “carry the City’s ideological and political message honoring Cesar Chavez” and “associate with a name and location to which they adamantly object.” The lawsuit also alleges that the city violated equal protection laws by singling out residents and business owners of the three impacted streets and “not renaming any of the other hundreds of streets in Fresno.”

They’re seeking monetary damages from the city and attorney fees.

The lawsuit comes four months after the Fresno City Council decided to rename a stretch of road running through southeast Fresno, downtown and southwest Fresno. Supporters of the Cesar Chavez Boulevard name change say the name honors the city’s farmworkers and that there’s no major road in Fresno named after a Latino. Opponents, such as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, say that Chavez was a controversial figure, and that the renaming “erases” other communities’ local history, such as that of Black and Armenian Fresnans.

In a phone interview with The Bee on Monday, Brian Leighton, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said their primary goal is for the city to rescind the resolution and “go back to the … previous names.”

He said if city leaders are intent on honoring Chavez, described as a “divisive” labor organizer in the lawsuit, they could come up with other ways. (Leighton is also representing Fresno County in a lawsuit against the state of California over the Yokuts Valley name change.)

He noted that California already observes Chavez’s birthday on March 31, adding, “apparently, a state holiday is not enough.”

City of Fresno spokesperson Sontaya Rose declined to comment, saying the city does not comment on pending litigation.

In a phone interview with The Bee on Monday, District 3 City Councilmember Miguel Arias, whose district includes stretches of Ventura Street in downtown as well as California Avenue, said the lawsuit was “frivolous” and “racist” against Latinos – especially the suggestion that the name change would reduce the value of area businesses.

Cesar Chavez name change controversy

In a 6-1 vote on March 9, Fresno City Council voted in favor of renaming a stretch of road to Cesar Chavez Boulevard. The decision came over 30 years after an initial attempt to rename the road in honor of the United Farm Workers union co-founder failed.

District 5 Councilmember Luis Chavez, whose district includes stretches of Ventura Avenue/Kings Canyon Road, said in a text message to The Bee that the intent of the name change was to honor Chavez and his legacy.

But the decision was met with criticism from some west Fresno residents, business owners along the corridor, and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

A recently formed advocacy organization, 1 Community Compact, held a press conference in April and called for the council to rescind the decision. The group raised the possibility of a lawsuit at that time.

Since then, the group’s “members and supporters have substantially grown to more than 1,000 individuals, including business owners and operators,” according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, 1 Community Compact alleges the city failed to form a citizens advisory committee with neighbors and businesses to provide input, as promised in 2022. The lawsuit also alleges the council’s decision to put the resolution’s vote on the consent agenda was a way to “limit” council debate and public participation.

It also says that some residents oppose the name change because of the historic significance of existing street names.

In west Fresno, California Avenue is significant because it was the “dominant street” for Black Fresnans as a result of the racist, redlining practices that pushed Black residents into west Fresno. According to the lawsuit, nearly 100% of Black Fresnans lived on the west side by 1950 and California Avenue became a central business and residential artery for the Black experience in Fresno.

Meanwhile, Ventura Street is home to one of the oldest Armenian churches in America, the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, which is a Fresno historical site and listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Finally, the lawsuit says that Kings Canyon Road is historic because it is named for the “internationally famous Kings River Canyon and Kings Canyon National Park.”

Arias, however, said none of the streets have historic designation at the local, state or national level.

While there are a few historic places located along the streets in question, such as the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, the actual roads are not on the City of Fresno’s Historic Preservation Database.

Fresno city leader says lawsuit is ‘racist’ against Latinos

One of the main issues for Arias is that the lawsuit suggests there’s a relationship between property values and a street named after Chavez.

The lawsuit says the name change “detrimentally affect(s) the… value of the businesses on those streets” and that “the value of the business and street name are inseparably entwined with its location and identity.”

Leighton made a similar argument during an interview with The Bee.

“There’s a lot of people in the city that aren’t happy about this,” said Leighton. The people that are complaining “didn’t move to a street that was called Cesar Chavez.”

Some businesses have been on the road for over 50 years, he said, and “all of a sudden you rename it Cesar Chavez… he was a very divisive guy, he still is.”

The lawsuit says that Chavez alienated many farmers, packing houses and grocery stores; that he wasn’t a Fresno native and never lived in Fresno; that he’s already honored through a state paid holiday as well as in state educational curriculum; and through Fresno education institutions such as Cesar E. Chavez Adult Education Center, a downtown mural, in a statue at Fresno State, and in a mural at Edison High School.

The language in the lawsuit, Arias said, “suggests that being associated with a Latino surname on the street has a direct correlation to loss of property and business value.”

Arias added that the majority of the city’s residents are Latino and that “the vast majority of businesses (along Cesar Chavez Boulevard) cater to the Latino community.”

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The plaintiff, 1 Community Compact, is tied to a well-known conservative political operative, Tal Cloud. The 1 Community Compact website directs donors to make checks payable to a group called Common Sense Information, “Attn: Tal.” Cloud founded Common Sense Information.

“The frivolous lawsuit is simply a Trump-inspired grift by anti-Latino, anti-union and Republican operatives,” Arias said, pointing to 1 Community Compact’s ties to Cloud. He alleged that the lawsuit was an opportunity to “initiate a culture war” between the Latino and Black community.

In a phone call with The Bee on Tuesday, Cloud said Common Sense Information is a “public policy research and outreach” organization. He said the group is involved with 1 Community Impact and that he believes in its mission, but he didn’t expand on the specific nature of the relationship. He also said Arias was using “typical left-wing comments,” instead of dealing with real problems.

An initial hearing is scheduled for November 2.

23CECG02740 - 7-10-23 Complaint by Melissa Montalvo on Scribd