Bearded in His Den: San Jose's first U.S. mayor, Thomas Fallon.










Controversy, anger follow when Fallon rides again

Council votes 10-1 to install statue at Pellier Park

By Chantal Lamers

San Jose Latinos are reminded of a few things when they hear the name of Thomas Fallon. Fallon stands for war. He symbolizes brutality by white people. At the sound of his name, Latinos are reminded of a time when their ancestors were prohibited from living in what is now Willow Glen.

And the Latino community represented at the San Jose City Council meeting on April 18, says those are just some of the reasons they will continue to protest the placement of a Fallon statue in downtown San Jose.

The decade-old debate came to an end at City Hall, after council members voted 10-1 to take Fallon's statue out of storage in Oakland and place it in Pellier Park, at St. James and W. Julian streets. City officials estimate that placing Fallon near the heart of downtown will cost $250,000. The statue's six-year storage has cost San Jose about $38,000.

Mayor Ron Gonzales said removing the statue from storage will allow residents to move on from the historic San Jose debate. But for nearly two dozen Latinos who pleaded with council members to vote against the proposal, the meeting marked only the beginning of the battle.

Felix Alvarez was involved in the opposition to the Fallon statue 10 years ago and still doesn't believe a statue that represents neither patriotism or heroism has any place in San Jose. "If this statue is put up in Pellier Park, there will be an uprising in San Jose," he said.

Leticia Hernandez told the council that placing the statue downtown would be a regression of 10 years' progress toward a diverse, multicultural San Jose. Hernandez asked council members to reject, sell, melt, give away or keep in storage the statue that she says represents hatred for diversity.

The two-ton bronze statue of Fallon riding horseback with a companion first sparked debate during the 1980s. That was when, behind closed doors, then-Mayor Tom McEnery planned the creation and placement of the statue.

But McEnery and council members met with public protest. San Joseans questioned the cost of the statue and Fallon's importance to history. McEnery claimed the $445,000 statue of Fallon earned a downtown spot partly because Fallon was the first to raise the American flag in California on July 14, 1846, during the Mexican-American War.

But anti-Fallon San Joseans spoke of a man who abused his wife and killed innocent people. Fallon lynched and murdered Mexicans, they say.

During McEnery's mayoral rein, council members decided to pack Fallon away and not bring him back into the light until after the completion of the recommendation of a citizens committee. The recommendation asked council members to produce four monuments that reflect San Jose's diverse past. The last, a memorial to the Ohlone Indians, is nearly finished, hence Fallon's pending reappearance.

Despite the 16 residents who spoke avidly against the representation of Fallon in the city, the council approved the installation. But not before Councilman Manny Diaz made an amendment to the item, stipulating that an accompanying plaque would recount the controversy that surrounds the statue.

Alice Woody was the only council member to vote against the statue, saying that San Jose should forget the statue and work on continuing the city's multicultural progress.

Mayor Gonzales said that, through the contention over the Fallon statue, residents have learned public art can be controversial--but that controversy can be a learning experience. "I think its time to move on," he said.

Around the Glen

Walls separate neighbors, cultures

San Jose Children's Musical Theater presents 'State Fair'

Sports Briefs

High school sports