The Latino Student Union at Cal State Long Beach celebrated a victory on Tuesday evening as the Long Beach City Council voted in favor of naming the park to be built on Golden Avenue after the civil rights leader Cesar Chavez.
Nearly 300 people attended the City Council meeting, filling every seat in the chambers.
Supporters and detractors of the proposition stood by for an opportunity to speak to the council.
Mayor Beverly O'Neill limited the testimony to only five speakers from both sides of the issue to be heard at the deciding City Council meeting because four hearings on the debate had already taken place.
The initial controversy surrounding the park was a claim that the proposed name would draw only Latinos and gang activity.
However, the legality of naming the park became the new issue at the City Council meeting. City Attorney John R. Calhoun said the policy guidelines set forth in the early 1980's states that, "city owned land and facilities shall not be named in honor of individuals when they have been previously named for other individuals."
Willmore Park, named after the founder of Long Beach, William Erwin Willmore, is a two-acre park that lies within the area designated for the construction of the 13-acre Cesar Chavez Park. Opponents argue the City Council will be renaming Willmore Park.
"My friends and neighbors are all admirers of process," said David Sundstrom, West End community member and chairman of a citizens' panel that helped plan the park. "All we want is for the city to follow its own policies and regulations."
Calhoun assured the council that guidelines and policies would not be violated in naming the park. "What is before you now is not the renaming of an existent park," Calhoun said. "The park that is before you is of a whole different character."
Testimony followed after the legality in naming the park was established by Calhoun.
Raymond Chavarria, spokesperson for the city-wide coalition for Cesar Chavez Park handed the city clerk 2,500 signatures in support of the name.
One fifth of the signatures were gathered by CSULB students two weeks ago in a door to door community effort.
"His life stands for the proposition that regardless of your race or ethnicity, whether you have a limited education or come from poverty, through discipline, education, and vision, one can accomplish great things," Chavarria said.
After testimony was heard from both sides, O'Neill brought the issue back to the council.
"I think a lot of people feel that there is no unity in this park today," Councilmember Jeffrey A. Kellogg said.
"Regardless of what position people have taken on the question of the name, there has been unanimity that this was a great man," said Jenny Oropeza, councilmember for the first district. "And it is for that reason and my belief that we need a great role model. Naming a park is a tremendous opportunity that comes around so rarely in this city."
In September, Oropeza proposed the name of "Cesar Chavez Unity Park."
Last week the council voted to drop "unity" from the name because the community had become so split in the controversy.
The City Council voted 7-2 in favor of the name Cesar Chavez Park.
Oropeza's proposal was supported by councilmembers Alan Lowenthal (2nd), H. Delano Roosevelt (4th), Les Robbins (5th), Doris Topsy-Elvord (6th), Mike Donelon (7th), and Jerry Shultz (9th).
Doug Drummond (3rd) and Jeffrey A. Kellogg (8th) voted against the initiative.
Oropeza was surrounded by supporters after the vote.
"I'm very proud and pleased that we've finally named our park Cesar Chavez Park," Oropeza said. "I'm very proud of my colleagues for doing the right thing."
Latino Student Union member and Hispanic Student Business Association Marketing Chairperson Robert Perez led the CSULB effort in support of Oropeza's proposal.
"The outcome demonstrates that when Latino organizations on campus and off campus get together, we could get things done," Perez said.