Parks Rule Won’t Let Seattle Rename César Chávez Park To Honor Dolores Huerta, But The City Has Made Exceptions Before

Seattle officials and community members want to rename César Chávez Park to honor labor organizer Dolores Huerta after she came forward, levying a long-hidden accusation that he raped her. The name change feels like a slam dunk: Seattle still gets to acknowledge the important work of the National Farm Workers Association, but also send a message of support to survivors of sexual abuse. However, the Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) naming policy appears to stand in the way, allowing parks to be named in someone’s honor no sooner than three years after their death. Huerta, 95, is alive.

Earlier this month, The New York Times published a wide-ranging investigation into Chávez's pattern of sexual abuse, much of it occurring in the height of the labor organizing work he’s known for. Huerta, who worked closely with Chávez, told the Times that Chávez raped her in 1960 and 1966. Both of these assaults resulted in pregnancy, she said. 

Across the country, elected officials started striping references to Chávez out of their communities. In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson said he would not issue a proclamation recognizing “César Chávez Day” on March 31. 

Seattle City Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck and King County Council Member Teresa Mosqueda pushed to immediately remove a sign at the County-owned, City-managed park displaying Chávez’s name. Now, SPR is soliciting suggestions for a new name from the Seattle community. Renaming the park for Huerta feels like a natural pick — The Burner followers seem to think so and they have pretty good taste! Rinck also told SPR in an email that she and Mosqueda want to rename the park for Huerta. 

But according to park naming rules, last reviewed in 2023, SPR cannot name a park after a living person and even then, they must have been dead for at least three years before receiving such an honor. And it's not an obscure rule the department has forgotten about — SPR included it as a stipulation in their recent post asking for name suggestions. 

SPR did not respond when asked to confirm whether this rule would prohibit the City from naming the park to honor Huerta or how the rule could be changed. 

However, the City has made exceptions in the past. For example, Donnie Chin, a hero for the Chinatown International District and Seattle as a whole, was shot and killed in 2015. Shortly after his death, community members launched a campaign to pressure the City to rename a children’s park to honor Chin’s legacy. At first, SPR was reluctant to change the name because of the three year rule. But after an outpouring of support for the name change, the City renamed the park Donnie Chin International Children’s Park in 2016. 

Further, the City has also named a park after a living person before, though it is unclear if SPR had adopted the three year rule at that time. In 1977, Sand Point Park became Warren G. Magnuson Park, named for Senator Magnuson. Not only was he still alive, he was still in office. 

All this to say, if Seattle wants to name the park for Huerta, they just have to keep asking.