6 candidates file papers for Downey City Council

DOWNEY - With the filing deadline come and gone, voters have a clearer picture of what Downey’s City Council ballots will look like.

Two city council seats – District 2 and District 4 – will be up for election.

Current Councilwoman Claudia Frometa – the sole city council incumbent in this year’s election - will attempt to retain her seat representing District 4. Elected in 2018, Frometa’s term includes a year as mayor in 2021.

She is joined in her race by two challengers, Juan Martinez and Joaquin Beltran.

This is Martinez’s second bid for election. An outspoken critic of city officials and staff, Martinez is known for his regular use of public comment time at city council meetings and frequent protesting at city events. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the District 5 seat in 2020, earning 14% of votes and ultimately finding himself third out of four candidates behind now councilman Mario Trujillo and runner up Carrie Uva.

Beltran returns to the campaign trail after just recently making a run for the 42nd Congressional District, finishing towards the bottom of a crowded pack of candidates with just 2.4% of votes. A relative newcomer to the local political scene, he ran on a platform of making the American Dream more accessible, including affordable housing and healthcare, job creation, education, wildlife conservation, and climate change.

District 2 will be contested between Anthony Felix, Art Montoya,  and Hector Sosa.

Felix previously applied for the then vacant District 2 seat earlier this year. Prior to that, he ran for Congress in 2020 as a Democrat, finishing fourth in the polls. Felix has lived in Downey for four years.

Lifelong Downey resident Montoya is also not a stranger to the election cycle, having previously ran in 2016 for the District 3 seat ultimately taken by former Mayor Rick Rodriguez. He went on to serve as Planning Commissioner for Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez before needing to resign his seat after moving out of the district. He currently serves as one of Alvarez’s representatives on the Public Works Committee.

Sosa is a first-time candidate, known primarily for his work with Gangs out of Downey (where is a former president), DJAA, West Downey Little League, and Kiwanis. Sosa was the first non-incumbent to publicly announce his intent to run for City Council, even briefly considering applying to fill the District 2 vacancy earlier this year.

Notably absent is Councilman Donald La Plante, who was selected to take over the seat in May after former councilman Sean Ashton resigned in March last year, citing unavailability to fill his duties after a job promotion.

La Plante’s decision not to run for reelection should come as no surprise, as the councilmember was vocal early on about his intentions to step away at the end of the term barring a lack of candidates or some other extreme.

The city is currently still in the process of certifying candidate filers.

The election will take place Nov. 8.