City Council set to decide next mayor, mayor pro tem

DOWNEY – The Downey City Council on Tuesday will decide who will serve as Downey’s mayor and mayor pro tem for the coming year.

While it’s widely expected that current Mayor Pro Tem Blanca Pacheco will be appointed mayor, what is less clear is who will fill the mayor pro tem position in 2022.

According to city council policy, the mayor pro tem seat should rotate to “the newest council member who has not yet served as mayor,” which would be either Councilmember Mario Trujillo and Catherine Alvarez.

Since both were elected at the same time, Trujillo and Alvarez would draw lots to determine who takes the position first.

The City Council, however, has deviated away from the policy in the past.

Besides Trujillo and Alvarez, other options for mayor pro tem include Councilman Sean Ashton, who is entering his final year on the city council, and Mayor Claudia Frometa, who is up for re-election next fall.