New northwest Fresno park may be named after Central Valley political ‘trailblazer’

A new park is being planned for northwest Fresno, and the councilmember who represents the area wants to name it after a California politician whose roots and legacy run deep in the Central Valley.

Cruz Bustamante was elected to the State Assembly’s 31st district in 1993, representing Fresno and parts of the San Joaquin Valley. Four years later, he became the first Latino State Assembly speaker.

A Fresno State graduate, Bustamante was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998, breaking a century-long barrier as the first Latino to hold a statewide office since 1875. He was often seen as bringing a working-class, Central Valley-perspective to state politics.

“He is a trailblazer,” District 2 Fresno Councilmember Mike Karbassi told The Bee. “I can think of nobody more fitting for this honor of having a park named after him at this location.”

Karbassi is bringing forward a resolution at a City Council meeting on Thursday to officially name the park, still in the design phase at Veterans Boulevard and Barstow Avenue, “Cruz Bustamante Park.”

The planned park site is near the Veterans Boulevard overpass that opened to traffic in 2023, allowing east-west mobility across the Highway 99 corridor. Areas west of the 99 had been cut off from the rest of the city after the highway’s construction in the 1950s and historically have been neglected.

Bustamante was born in Dinuba in Tulare County, grew up in Fresno County’s San Joaquin and graduated from Tranquility High. He attended Fresno City College and later earned his degree from Fresno State.

After college, Bustamante told The Bee he built his life and family in Fresno and spent his career representing the city and its surrounding rural areas.

“It’s always an honor to be considered for the naming of any public works project, and especially so when it’s going to be some place where families are going to gather and create memories for themselves and their children,” Bustamante said.

Bustamante ran for governor during the 2003 recall election against Arnold Schwarzenegger as the highest-ranking Democrat on the replacement ballot.

A community input meeting was held in June for the park, and there will likely be another in a few months for the design consultant to incorporate public feedback into it, Karbassi said.

Proposed amenities include a walking loop connecting a play area, picnic area, communal lawn, exercise nodes and a veterans memorial monument.