Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers union, is now the namesake for what is now called the Kings Canyon corridor in Fresno. Cropped photo by Wikipedia user Movimiento under a Creative Commons license.

The core of a veto-proof majority of the Fresno City Council declared victory Tuesday on the renaming of the Kings Canyon corridor to Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

The name of the farm labor leader will replace three sections of the 10-mile route including Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Street and California Avenue.

On March 20, Mayor Jerry Dyer returned an empty veto slip to the Fresno City Clerk and a message to members of the city council acknowledging the veto-proof nature of the March 9 vote, according to a joint news release from Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Luis Chavez and Nelson Esparza.

The council voted 6-1 in favor of the name change. Only Garry Bredefeld voted no.

With no filing of an approval or veto, according to the release, the resolution is deemed enacted.

“This is an exciting moment in the history of the City of Fresno,” stated lead sponsor Chavez. “Fresno now joins the ranks of virtually every major city in the United States and names a street to honor a civil rights icon from our own community.”

The resolution sponsors said they are working closely with the Dyer administration to enact the name change. They are also preparing support for businesses and residents to defray the costs associated with such a change.

The measure had its opponents. Residents of the Sunnyside neighborhood felt the name Kings Canyon Road had historical significance related to Kings Canyon National Park, reported the Fresno Bee. Residents of southwest Fresno felt blindsided by the change, feeling it insensitive to the area’s Black residents.

The Fresno City Council in 1993 passed a similar measure that was vetoed by then-Mayor Jim Patterson.

“On behalf of the Chavez family and farm worker movement, we are grateful to the city and people of Fresno for this honor. For us it is especially meaningful for Fresno to have a street named for Cesar E. Chavez in the city where the movement was officially founded and has played an important role in its ongoing work,” said Paul F. Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

“This historic street naming is also a tribute to the countless men, women, and children who marched alongside my father in the quest for fairness, justice, and opportunity for those most in need.”

A celebration of the name change is being organized and will include the family of Cesar Chavez, according to the release.