OXNARD : Renaming of Road Prompts Complaint

La Colonia residents who are upset over the renaming of part of Colonia Road filed a protest petition Tuesday with the Oxnard City Council.

Fifty-two residents signed the petition, complaining that the new name--Camina de la Raza, or Road of the People--was not among the suggestions they gave the council last month when the renaming project was announced.

“We do not agree with the name that has been selected for our street,” said Elbe Pinero. “What happened to our votes? Do our votes not count? This is very important to us who have lived here for over 20 years, and we want to have a say in the selection of names.”

A name-selection committee that polled some of La Colonia’s 13,000 residents settled on a name they favored--Camino del Sol. The panel recommended that the new name be put on the part of Colonia Road between Del Norte Boulevard and the fire station near Rose Avenue, and on a new section between the station and Oxnard Boulevard.

The name was suggested because Del Sol Park is nearby, and to avoid confusion because the new section of road parallels part of the existing Colonia Road that will retain its old name.

But on May 19, the council voted 5 to 0 to approve Councilman Manuel Lopez’s suggestion that the section of road be named Camina de la Raza, to reflect the city’s Latino heritage.

La Colonia resident Carlos Aguilera said Tuesday that he objects not to the name, but to the name-choosing process that left out the people of La Colonia.

Lopez defended the choice Tuesday, saying that 10 supporters of the name and no opponents showed up to a neighborhood meeting he called on Monday. He also said the word raza is often used to honor Latinos, citing a monument in Mexico city called Monumento a La Raza and the Latin American celebration of Columbus Day as El Dia de La Raza.