The Schmidt Show PDX | Season 2, Episode 14
Some fights you don’t choose. They choose you.
On March 19th, 2026, a New York Times investigation alleged that Cesar Chavez had sexually abused girls in the farm worker movement and assaulted Dolores Huerta, his own partner in the struggle. For Portland’s Latino community that had fought a multi year battle to rename a street in his honor — a community that pushed through the racist attacks, broken promises, and a brutal bureaucratic process — the news landed like a gut punch.
And almost before they could process it, elected leaders were calling for the street renamed - to come down.
This episode is about what happens next.
Today I sit down with Marta Guembas and former Portland Mayor Tom Potter, two people who understand in their bones what it means when a community has to fight just to be seen. Marta was co-chair of the original Cesar Chavez Boulevard campaign. Mayor Potter shepherded that effort through a bruising, years-long political battle beginning in 2007. Together, we dig into the history that most Portlanders don’t know — the false starts, the broken promises, the commissioner who changed his vote, and the three years of pain it took to turn 39th Avenue into Cesar Chavez Boulevard in 2010.
And then we talk about how the original committee has been forced out of retirement to organize once more: to come back to the arena, tired and grieving, and how they found something extraordinary in the hard work of separating an icon from an ugly truth. A new name. Campesinos Boulevard. Not a name that can be taken back. A name that honors not the man but the movement — the farm workers, the families, the hands in the fields and the voices in the streets who built everything.
Mayor Potter put it simply: when he heard it, he thought it was brilliant. So did I.
In this episode:
* Marta describes the moment she realized the NYT report was true — and the deeply personal process of taking down a framed portrait of Chavez she’d kept for years, eventually cutting it into 39 pieces
* Mayor Potter reflects on navigating the original renaming battle and what he’d tell today’s city council
* Why the community felt immediate calls to rename the street were disrespectful — and what they needed instead
* The story behind Campesinos — and why it may be the first street in the United States named for farm workers collectively
* Which local organizations have already come forward in support, and how you can too.
Take action. This one matters.
The community has spoken. Now it’s Portland’s turn.
📖 Read the full story — OPB’s deep dive on the renaming effort and the community behind it: Portlanders consider the future of Cesar Chavez Boulevard
📞 Call your City Council representative and the Mayor’s office. Tell them you support a swift, dignified resolution — one that honors a community that has already waited long enough and fought hard enough to be seen by this city.
✍️ Support Por La Causa and their petition to rename the street Campesinos Boulevard. This effort is being led by community members, not politicians — exactly as it should be.
Enjoying the show?
We are so close to hitting 100 Substack subscribers — and when we get there, we are planning something special to celebrate. If you’ve been on the fence, now is the time. Subscribe at Substack, like the episode, follow the show, and tell someone else about it. This kind of storytelling only reaches as far as the people willing to pass it along.
As always — keep showing up for Portland. 🌹
Schmidt Show PDX is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.schmidtshowpdx.com/subscribe
May 6 202651 min
Apr 27 202641 min
Apr 24 20261 ora e 45 min
Apr 15 202649 min
Mar 25 202649 min
Mar 14 20261 ora e 9 min
Feb 27 202652 min
47 min