Finally, a new name for Phelan Avenue?
Push to rename S.F. street for Frida Kahlo progresses
Phelan Avenue could be renamed Frida Kahlo Way later this year, Supervisor Norman Yee announced Wednesday. Phelan Avenue was named after James Phelan, a 19th century mogul who made a fortune in wheat and real estate. But it has become more closely associated with Phelan’s son, also named James, who served in the U.S. Senate and as San Francisco’s mayor.
The younger Phelan promoted and supported anti-immigrant and racist policies, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Immigration Act of 1924, which sought to curb the immigration of Chinese and Japanese people to the United States.
So a movement to change the street’s name has been simmering for years.
“As a community, we need to reckon with the racist legacy of our country’s past and rewrite our future,” Yee said in a statement.
After a lengthy community outreach process, including creating a renaming committee, a shortlist of potential names was developed. The name of celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo got the most votes. A request to change the name would now have to be vetted by the Public Works Department and other city agencies before being approved by the Board of Supervisors.
Many see rechristening the street after Kahlo to be a fitting contrast to Phelan’s racist legacy, given her celebrated status as a prolific artist and a woman of color. She is also a vaunted figure in the LGBT community and with disability advocates.
The last time a major street was renamed in the city was 1995, when Army Street was renamed after Cesar Chavez over loud objections from businesses and residents with Army Street addresses. Phelan, however, runs along the City College of San Francisco campus. “Pan-American Unity,” a mural by Kahlo’s husband, Diego Rivera, is located in the lobby of the Diego Rivera Theater near Phelan, so she should feel right at home.
— Dominic Fracassa Poll pushback: Veteran Democrat Mark Leno on Tuesday pushed back against a poll that showed him receding in the mayor’s race, saying it was skewed to favor his opponents.
“They specifically singularly endorsed, and then they went out and did a poll that showed what they wanted it to show,” Leno said of last month’s poll commissioned by the San Francisco firefighters union. It showed Supervisor London Breed leading with 29 percent of firstpick votes, and Supervisor Jane Kim following close behind at 26 percent.
Leno, who was leading in early polls, had plunged to third place at 19 percent. Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates conducted the landline and cell phone survey of 462 likely voters between Feb. 22 and 28. It had a 4.6 percentage point margin of error.
But during a meeting Tuesday with The Chronicle’s editorial board, Leno seemed unflappable. He has since released a citywide homeless strategy and retooled his campaign messages to emphasize the historical significance of being San Francisco’s first openly gay mayor, if he is elected.
He noted that the firefighters union had endorsed Breed in the June 5 contest.
“That one poll was repeated and repeated, and made to be the dynamic of the race,” he said. “I would tell everybody to take a deep breath. It’s just that — a poll, done by a supporter of the candidate they put in the lead.” — Rachel Swan