Cesar Chavez was an American hero whose life's work yielded important gains for all Americans.

Symbols, such as street names, send important signals about the community's values. And there is no question in my mind that Portland will be a better community when Cesar Chavez is duly honored with a major street renaming.

I support the renaming of a major arterial street for Cesar Chavez in Portland. But I cannot support renaming Interstate Avenue under the current circumstances.

I find the intentions of the committee seeking the name change to be entirely honorable. And I do not fault the advocates for the process that has been used. They have proceeded based on the early advice they got from City Hall. When they asked for my support I initially told them I would offer it. My inital support was based on their presumption of neighborhood support, which turned out to be incorrect.

Tragically, the lack of good Portland process in considering this matter has created a community conversation that has too often devolved into a screaming match. Often punctuated with comments wholly irrelevant to the proposed street renaming, the conversation has occasionally yielded racist epithets that are absolutely inexcusable.

As I said earlier, symbols do matter and very recently we renamed North Portland's Portland Boulevard to honor Rosa Parks. I believe it is unfair to ask North Portland to endure two significant street name changes in less than a year. City leaders need to be sensitive to how much change any one neighborhood can absorb at once.

I reiterate my unequivocal support for renaming a street of community significance, a major arterial, after Cesar Chavez. My fellow city commissioner Randy Leonard and I propose to do just that with a street naming process that will look citywide for the street most appropriate to rename for Cesar Chavez. With a better process, I have every confidence that more Portlanders will rise to the occasion and unite in support of this important opportunity.

See the resolution attached below.

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