by Matthew Holloway | Apr 3, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has signed a bipartisan emergency measure to repeal the state law recognizing César Chávez Day, following the legislature’s action on Monday.
House Bill 2072, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Fink (R-LD27), removes statutory recognition of the March 31 holiday honoring the late union leader following New York Times reporting on allegations that he sexually abused women and minors during his tenure.
The bill passed the Arizona House with a 48-8 vote and cleared the Arizona Senate with a 29-1 vote, with State Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-LD20) casting the sole dissenting vote.
“Once these reports came to light, there was no excuse for leaving this honor in Arizona law,” Fink said. “The women and children Chavez harmed should not have to watch the state continue honoring his name. Repealing this law is the proper response. It respects the victims he left behind and removes a state honor that should not remain in place.”
The legislation advanced following recent reporting on allegations involving Chávez during his tenure as president of the United Farm Workers.
“Arizona law should not honor a man tied to sexual abuse against children and violence against women,” House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) said in a statement. “The House acted today because victims deserve better, the truth cannot be ignored, and state honors carry meaning.”
Montenegro urged Hobbs to sign the bill, stressing bipartisan support in both chambers of the legislature.
Hobbs said in a statement on Wednesday that she is “deeply troubled by the recent revelations about César Chávez.”
“After learning the troubling news, I decided not to recognize César Chávez Day this year and have signed legislation to repeal the observance of March 31st as César Chávez Day. While I know signing this bill won’t erase the pain, my thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected. I’m working with community leaders to find meaningful ways to honor and celebrate our farmworker community and their continued contributions to the state of Arizona. “
Addressing the Arizona farmworkers Chávez once represented, Hobbs said, “I am incredibly grateful for our hardworking farmworkers. Their resilience is evident in the lettuce fields of Yuma and the orange-picking farms of Mesa. Arizona’s farmworkers are the backbone of our state’s economy. I remain committed to supporting them and ensuring their contributions are recognized with dignity and respect.”
A March 2026 report by The New York Times detailed allegations from multiple women who said Chávez engaged in sexual misconduct, including claims that he “used his power within the organization to exploit women and girls.”
House Republicans stated in a release that “Arizonans should not be forced to celebrate a figure whose legacy is now under serious question,” adding that the measure reflects “a responsibility to ensure state-recognized holidays align with values supported by the public.”
The emergency legislation, an amended version of HB 2072, repeals sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes that establish the holiday and includes an emergency clause that makes the repeal effective immediately upon the governor’s signature. The bill text specifies that it “repeals section 1-301, Arizona Revised Statutes,” which designates César Chávez Day as a state holiday.
In a March 30 letter to Governor Hobbs, Gonzales urged a veto of the measure, arguing the emergency clause is unconstitutional.
“House Bill 2072 is not an emergency, and it lacks the constitutionally required section that explains why it is necessary to preserve the public peace, health, or safety,” Gonzales wrote. She added that the bill “denies the people of Arizona their constitutionally protected right to direct democracy via referendum.”
Gonzales also called on state leaders to pursue recognition of farmworkers’ contributions through an alternative designation, writing that lawmakers should consider “renaming Dr. Cesar Estrada Chavez Day” rather than eliminating it entirely.
Despite those objections, the bill received the supermajority required for an emergency clause.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 19, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona will not recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year following allegations detailed in a report by The New York Times that labor leader Cesar Chavez sexually abused girls and assaulted women connected to the United Farm Workers movement.
According to a FOX 10 Phoenix report, the state will not observe the March 31 holiday in response to the allegations. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs honored Chavez as recently as 2022 in a post on X, writing, “Today, we celebrate and honor the life and legacy of civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez.”
In a statement released March 17, the governor’s office said:
“The Governor’s Office is deeply concerned by the troubling allegations against César Chávez. As a social worker who worked with homeless youth and victims of domestic violence, Governor Hobbs takes allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against women and minors very seriously. The Governor’s Office has decided to not recognize César Chávez Day this year. Our thoughts are with the victims and all those affected.”
The Times reported that two women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, said Chavez sexually abused them for years when they were minors associated with the United Farm Workers’ La Paz compound in California. Murguia said Chavez was 45 and she was 13 when he began summoning her to his office for sexual encounters, which she said continued dozens of times over four years. Rojas said Chavez first touched her inappropriately when she was 12 and later had sexual intercourse with her at age 15 during the union’s 1975 1,000-Mile March—conduct the Times noted constituted rape under California law due to her age.
The investigation also reported that longtime labor activist Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said Chavez sexually assaulted her. Huerta told the Times that Chavez raped her in 1966 in Delano, California, and described an earlier 1960 encounter in which she said she felt pressured into sex during a work trip.
According to the Times, the findings were based on interviews with more than 60 people, including former aides, relatives, and union members, as well as a review of hundreds of pages of union records, emails, photographs, and audio recordings. The accounts of Murguia and Rojas were corroborated through interviews with individuals they had confided in and through contemporaneous documents and records, the report said.
The fallout was immediate. The United Farm Workers canceled its annual Cesar Chavez Day celebrations after learning of the allegations during the reporting process. In a statement cited by the Times, the organization said the “troubling allegations” were incompatible with its values and that it would take time to ensure support services were available for those affected.
Chavez’s family said it was “not in a position to judge” the claims, according to the Times, adding that the allegations were “deeply painful” and that they support individuals who report sexual misconduct.
The investigation further reported that some relatives and former union leaders had been aware of allegations of sexual misconduct for years, but there was no evidence of efforts to fully investigate or publicly address the claims. Internal communications reviewed by the Times included discussions of Murguia’s allegations dating back more than a decade. The report also cited a social media post by Rojas in a private group years earlier in which she alleged Chavez had molested her.
Additional allegations included an account from Esmeralda Lopez, who told the Times that Chavez made a sexual proposition to her in 1988 while she was working within the movement. Lopez said she refused. Her account was corroborated by her mother, according to the report.
The Times also reported that some individuals who worked closely with Chavez denied the allegations, while others who lived at La Paz said they did not experience misconduct.
Chavez, who died in 1993, remains a prominent figure in American labor and civil rights history, with his name attached to schools, public buildings, and annual observances nationwide. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Bill Clinton in 1994, and a bust of Chavez was displayed in the Oval Office of former President Joe Biden in 2021.
Arizona’s decision not to recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year marks a direct response to the findings outlined in the Times investigation.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Apr 1, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Thursday, Phoenix had the grand opening of a $12 million community center, days after a court ruled that it had refused to clean up the massive homeless encampment downtown.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced the 34,000-square-foot community center, noting that she’d been working on the project since her election in 2019. That was the same year that the homeless crisis began.
Funding for the community center came from the Parks and Preserve Initiative, which sets aside one cent of sales tax for every $10 spent to improve and renovate parks, as well as to expand and improve the city’s desert preserve system.
As AZ Free News reported in its investigative series on The Zone, the homeless crisis has a devastating impact on Phoenix’s ground and waterways.
The community center is located about eight miles south of the homeless encampment (The Zone). It has an elevated track, basketball court, kitchen, fitness center, gaming room, outdoor movie theater, art installation, and a sensory room.
The city opened the community center a day before the holiday celebrating its namesake: the civil rights and union activist Cesar Chavez.
During the grand opening ceremony, Gallego called the community center a “showpiece” that represents city values. Gallego disclosed that the city had to jump through a lot of hoops to find the funding to finish the project.
“We put inclusivity at the forefront. This building really shows our values,” said Gallego. “[W]e really had to work as a team to find out how to fund this project. Most city projects have fairly simple funding resources, but this one was quite complex with bond funding, impact fees, [and] a little bit of federal funding.”
The city held its groundbreaking for the community center in September 2020. That was eight months after the residents and business owners within The Zone, the massive homeless encampment downtown, presented a plan to mitigate the burgeoning homeless with outdoor shelter or camping spaces on city land. According to the Maricopa County Superior Court ruling, the city generally ignored their pleas and their plans.
The Maricopa County Superior Court ruled on Monday that the city of Phoenix was at fault for the homeless crisis, which began around 2019 after the city essentially stopped enforcing laws on the homeless.
The city initially projected the community center to be completed last spring or early summer. It’s the city’s first community center established since 2007.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
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