SALINAS, Calif.- Tiburcio Vasquez, it's the name that has since captured national headlines. A lot of has happened since the name was chosen as a local school name in December.
The Alisal Union School Board voted unanimously on the school's name. The school is located on Tuscany and Freedom Boulevard. Since then new Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter spoke out against the name choice.
Tiburcio Vasquez is known to some as California's first bandit, for being a thief and murderer. But others see him as a Chicano hero. While the board isn't backing down, the Monterey County Deputy Sherriff's Association is planning to take some major action to erase the controversial name.
Alisal Union School District Superintendent John Ramirez said the district has made it's decision and he thinks the deputy sheriff's association should focus it's energy on fixing the city's crime rate. But association president Daniel Mitchell said it's about time the Alisal Union School District get it's role in the community straight.
"They're public servants, they should be accountable to the public, the people who live in that area and if they don't feel they're accountable, then we need to hold them accountable as citizens," said Daniel Mitchell.
Now the association plans to put a measure on an upcoming ballot to hold the district accountable. It's investigating the district's authority to name schools and who has veto power over the decision. Last month we checked that out and the state board of education said it's a local district decision. So far the district hasn't budged on it's decision to name it's newest elementary school after Tiburcio Vasquez, a so called local folk hero. Mitchell said it seems as if the district is trying to re-write Vasquez's history--but his rap sheet speaks for itself.
"He's a known bandit and he is a, you know was convicted of homicide. And that's not a positive role model for our children," Mitchell said.
Historians we've spoken with have said Vasquez fought for Mexican-American rights during the gold rush and later became a folk hero. But Mitchell said naming a school after a murderer isn't appropriate.
"There are so many other great role models that they could name the school after. Martin Luther King questioned authority. But he didn't have to go shoot people for it," Mitchell said.
