OGDEN — Ogden City Council members want the commemorative Cesar Chavez Street signs taken down along 30th Street as they debate whether to rescind the honorary designation altogether.
At a work session on Tuesday, City Council members expressed unanimous support for taking the signs down in light of new allegations that the late labor leader and civil rights activist sexually abused women and girls. Similarly, Salt Lake City Council members at their meeting Tuesday expressed support for removing commemorative street signs along 500 South meant to honor the man.
“I applaud that we’re standing with survivors, that we’re standing by believing,” said Ogden Councilwoman Alicia Washington. “This is an opportunity to stand with survivors and victims and stand with our community and move forward.”
Rich Hyer, chairman of the council, said he spoke about the issue with Jesse Garcia, who expressed support for removing the signs as officials decide on a more permanent course of action. Garcia’s hope, according to Hyer, is to guard against “triggering” anybody who’s been a victim of a sexual assault. Garcia, a former Ogden councilman, spearheaded efforts to add the commemorative Cesar Chavez designation along 30th Street in Ogden in 2003.
Glenn Symes, administrator for the City Council, conveyed the city officials’ request to remove the signage to Mayor Ben Nadolski’s office, which would oversee the actual removal. City workers will take them down, Nadolski’s office confirmed, but didn’t provide a timeline for the action.
The Ogden officials didn’t discuss a timeline for additional action, that is, consideration of formally rescinding the commemorative Cesar Chavez Street designation. The designation along 30th Street was originally implemented from Wall Avenue east to Monroe Boulevard in 2003 and then extended further east to Harrison Boulevard in 2018.
Councilwoman Flor Lopez, though, said if officials come up with a new commemorative designation, it should be something that honors the farmworkers movement, but not necessarily a specific person, in case allegations emerge in the future against that individual.
The New York Times reported the allegations of sexual abuse against Chavez last week. Simultaneously, Dolores Huerta, who worked alongside Chavez in the farmworkers’ rights movement, revealed that Chavez had pressured her into unwanted sex on two occasions, both leading to pregnancies.
A portion of 2320 South in West Valley City is named Cesar Chavez Drive, extending from Redwood Road east to about 1070 West.
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