The Human Relations Commission of Chula Vista voted unanimously Thursday evening to recommend the removal of the decades-old Christopher Columbus statue in Discovery Park. The statue has become a flash point over the last few months with vandals dousing the statue with red paint twice, costing the city thousands of dollars in cleanup work.

In Chula Vista's city chambers Thursday, Native Americans made impassioned arguments against the statue. “He came here, he stole land, enslaved people,” one speaker said. Others spoke in support of the statue. “We stand proudly of our history. History of our faith, history of the world, history of our country,” said Rene Trevino with the Knights of Columbus.