Message from the Mayor

Posted by Dan Fox 
on Oct 15, 2013
 
Our speaker was introduced as a man who needs no introduction, and accordingly, he received none.  Our own member Mario Guerra, gave a detailed look at the city during his recent year as Mayor.  His secretary Shirley, and Gil Livas’s secretary, came as guests of the club to hear the boss.
 
One of the highlights of the past year was Downey’s acquiring a new sister city.  Not exactly a city, but more like a county, that is.  The main “city” in County Roscommon is Athlone, population 14,000, located on the banks of the River Shannon in the republic of Ireland.  But Taghmaconnel is the parish from which John Gately Downey and his family set out for America in 1841.  Lured by gold he came to California, but he soon saw better business ventures, from being an apothecary to ranching and buying land, including the Santa Gertrudes land grant.   

Going to the legislature in Sacramento, Downey moved up from lieutenant governor to governor when the rabidly pro-slavery governor Latham resigned to take a vacated U.S. Senate seat. Downey thus served a shortened term as governor of California from 1860-62.   When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Downey was crucial to Lincoln in bringing California to statehood, with all its gold, on the side of the Union.  Later, after he had donated one million dollars to turn a small Methodist college into the University of Southern California, Downey was memorialized by his contemporaries in the naming of our town. 

The story of John Downey is well known in Roscommon, where the ruins of his stonewalled birthplace are on display.  During Mario’s visit there, the Roscommon people and the Downey delegation talked about student exchanges, cultural visits and the how-to’s of business development.

Downey is now twinned with the entire county of Roscommon, whose total population is 64,000.  Roscommon is in southern Connaught in the west of the Republic of Ireland, with lakes, rivers and woodlands.  The quiet countryside is dotted with waterside pubs and excellent restaurants, and the people are involved with cattle raising.

We saw pictures of our Mayor Mario on his visit there, with Roscommon Mayor Tom Crosby.  Mayor Crosby was wearing the traditional gold necklace reserved for mayors in Ireland and Great Britain.  Our Mario was decked with a silver necklace which was made up of disks each one of which was engraved with the name of a former mayor of Roscommon.  The names go back for 140 years.  Mario said he asked the Downey City Council about starting a tradition like calling the chief executive, Lord Mayor, but the Council said “no chance, and no necklace.”

As the first bit of business and cultural exchange, Mayor Tom from Roscommon reciprocated Mario’s visit and in September of this year we saw the green, white and orange  flag of the Irish Republic flying with the California bear flag, below the Stars and Stripes.

 Turning to the theme of The Soul of the City, Mario reported that our city has a balanced budget.  City government is well-run by City manager Gil Livas, thanks to the seamless transition Gil was able to make when Manager Jerry Caton retired.

We looked at slice-of-pie graphics of the City budget, to see that the Police Department gets 39%, Fire Department 24%, government expenses 12%, public works 8%, Parks and Recreation 9%, community development 6%, the rest being spread among miscellaneous categories.

Mayor Mario feels we save money by having our own fire and police departments, and not contracting for those services with the Sheriff’s Department and the L A Country Fire Department.  When it comes time to vote for having the decision made by the majority of voters, not the majority of the council,  Mario gave his private and non-official opinion: vote to keep control in the hands of all the people who live here, not the five Council members.

More achievements for Downey during the last year include improvements in Treasure Island Park, and adding back one fire vehicle, which required hiring nine more fire persons to staff it 24/7.  The City also has 2 new ambulances and 2 new paramedic wagons. Downey continues to keep up its parks, roads and public safety.  The Police Department reports a 3% drop in crimes.

Even though Downey is a fiscally conservative city, we have been able to add back small things, which contribute out of proportion to public pride and morale, such as the Holiday Homes Judging Contest.  The Dave Gaffin Dog Park is about to open.

One of the successful city projects is Healthy Downey, and Mario has done his part in demonstrating a healthy lifestyle.  Not only has he lost 75 pounds, as verified by his weigh-ins at City Council meetings. He has also started Walk With the Mayor, a weekly Wednesday occurrence where citizens can walk alongside him and ask questions about local government.  Kaiser Hospital, Coca Cola, Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center and the Downey Family YMCA all cooperate in this city-wide program.

 In community development, the Downey Gateway restaurant complex has opened, as well as Joseph’s and Lock and Key.  On Friday nights, said Mario, downtown Downey is full of people and lights.  Stay Gallery, a product of Downey Vibe, is celebrating its first full year of programs, justifying the monthly rent investment by the City.

A monster-size development, The Promenade, 177 acres, is coming, the largest development west of the Mississippi, wrought from contaminated land at Rockwell.  The Columbia Space Center is in talks on cooperating on displays with NASA.  The shopping development at Downey Landings turns out to be a boost in sales for sales at Stonewood Center Mall.  New restaurants in Downey will include a Chick-Fil-A, and luxury condominiums are being built at Lakewood and Gallatin.

On the economic development side, there is a “red team” charged with updating marketing strategies for Downey, and a new economic website.  The Council is working to market Downey as a friendly one-stop shopping place.  As a last note, Mario noted the Public Works  team had finally come to fix up the stretch of Firestone between Old River School Road and Brookshire.  As Mario said, this is my home district, but I didn’t try to use any influence, I just waited like every other citizen, five and a half years, till my street area finally came up.