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Committee moves to revert South Cesar Chavez Drive to South 16th Street; cosponsor removes name
Summary
The Public Works Committee approved a substitute ordinance and motions related to removing the Cesar Chavez name from the street and restoring the street to South 16th Street, with a sponsor requesting removal as cosponsor to allow a community-driven renaming process.
The Milwaukee Public Works Committee took up a substitute ordinance (file 252060) involving the name of South Cesar Chavez Drive. Chairwoman Lele A. Cox explained the item would be taken out of order and identified sponsors as Alderman Perez and Alderman Zamaripa.
A committee member representing one sponsor summarized community reaction and said there had been "a consensus around returning the street name back to Cesar Chavez" and described an alternate path: revert to South 16th Street now and allow the neighborhood to pursue a future name through the street-naming committee and community engagement. Another sponsor present told the committee she had "trepidation about removing the name" that some constituents had advocated to represent the community; she asked to have her name removed as a cosponsor and said she still supported a community-led renaming to a culturally appropriate name.
Chair Cox asked staff about the steps required to remove a cosponsor; after a motion to remove the cosponsor's name was made, the committee heard no objections and the motion was ordered.
Alderman Lamont Westmoreland moved for passage of the ordinance as presented; the chair recorded no objections and the motion passed.
What the committee did: The committee removed a cosponsor from the file at the sponsor's request and moved the file forward; a separate community process through the citizen naming committee was discussed as the path for any future new name selection.
Next steps: Committee actions were ordered without objection; any final name change requires council action and, if the community wishes a new name after reversion to South 16th Street, the naming committee process would be used.
