TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Tucson City Council voted to pause a proposal to rename Joaquin Murrieta Park after civil rights activist Salomon Baldenegro at Wednesday night's meeting, after the council said new allegations of domestic violence were brought to their attention.
Mayor Romero voted in favor of the moratorium.
" I am deeply concerned about the reported and documented acts that we have been presented with," Romero said. "I think that we need to take our time on this."
The vote was close, but the majority of the council voted to pause the renaming while they work to establish a new process for naming public spaces.
Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz, who originally proposed the moratorium, said the pause will give the city time to create criteria for honoring individuals with public space names.
"We just want to get a little more systematized so that when we are presented with the name that we need to move forward on, we have all the information that we need to make that decision," Santa Cruz said.
Santa Cruz cited recent allegations against other public figures, including civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, as part of the reason for the pause.
"In the wake of the Cesar Chavez sexual assault allegations, it really brought a pause to our community, especially when we're naming things after movement people," Santa Cruz said.
The proposal has caused division in the El Barrio neighborhood. Raul Ramirez, who says Baldenegro was a central figure in the Chicano movement in Tucson, believes a park named after him would honor his legacy.
Read More: Proposal to rename Jaoquin Murrieta Park
"Some of our leaders, especially Salomon, who started, actually in my mind, the Chicano movement in Tucson are not only was he involved in the park and the El Rio creation of the center, but he was also involved with how TUSD was treating their minority students, especially Spanish-speaking and Mexican-Americans," Ramirez said.
Baldenegro grew in Barrio Hollywood and acted as one of many key organizers in the community during the movement.
Ramirez says that this work needs to be memorialized.
" I think we need to recognize that Murrieta Park, first of all, wouldn't exist without Salomon."
Not everyone agrees. Flor Burrel said the allegations against Baldenegro make her hesitant about the renaming, and argued the Chicano movement does not belong to one person.
"As a Chicana, as somebody who grew up in the ethnic studies movement and experienced the domestic violence in our communities, that happened within our own movements, I felt that it was something that I had to come and speak on here because there shouldn't be one person that gets memorialized over the work of many," Burrel said.
The council said a new process is being created for the public to weigh in on renaming public spaces.
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JJ McKinney joined KGUN 9 in July of 2025 as a multimedia journalist. He graduated from Colorado State University in May of 2025 with a degree in journalism and media communications and a minor in law. With a background in investigative reporting and documentary filmmaking, JJ is dedicated to giving a platform to the voices of his community. Share your story ideas and important issues with JJ by emailing jj.mckinney@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
