(PORTLAND, Oreg.) — The Portland council has voted unanimously to rename Cesar Chavez Blvd Campesinos Blvd only months after Cesar Chavez revelations.
Photo Credit: YouTube / eGov PDX
These items were discussed during the Portland City Council meeting on September 9, 2026.
After hearing extensive public testimony during last week’s council meeting, Portland councilors voted on Wednesday.
Cesar E. Chavez Blvd was controversially renamed to Campesinos Boulevard via an emergency ordinance following multiple amendments.
Debates included concerns over the five-year dual signage requirement (amended to 'up to five years'), a 'widespread consensus' clause (amended to 'widespread support'), and criticisms of the 'rush process' and lack of broad community outreach.
Millicent D. Williams, who is serving as the director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), answered questions from the councilors regarding the amount of time it will take to make the change. She advised that a one-year timeline, while not impossible, would be challenging.
Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane put forth Koyama Lane 2, which states: “The existing street name sign and proposed new street name sign shall both be posted and maintained up to five years following approval for the proposed renaming of Northeast and Southeast César E. Chávez Boulevard to Northeast and Southeast Campesinos Boulevard.”
Councilor Steve Novick did not agree with the phrasing “widespread consensus” as accurately conveying the community sentiment.
Photo Credit: YouTube / eGov PDX
“The majority of people, individual people who have commented on this proposal, are opposed to it. There are a lot of people who would like it to be 39th. So, by saying there’s widespread consensus in the community, I think it kind of tells a lot of people that they don’t exist. And although I agree with this name change, I’m concerned, particularly when there really was very little outreach to the broader community about this issue,” Novick said.
Councilor Novick added NOVICK 2, which changed the language to read: “There is widespread support in the community to swiftly rename Portland’s Cesar Chavez Blvd in a manner that befits and honors la causa, Latinx labor leaders, and farmworker organizations.
Following the adoption of these amendments, the council voted to unanimously to rename Cesar Chavez Blvd Campesinos Blvd.
OpGov.News has reached out to the Portland City Council for further comment and will continue to cover this renaming process.
If you would like to comment on this report, please email me at rory.h@lead4earth.org.
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