Gilbert Livas, flanked by his wife Hedy and daughter Anissa, was honored with a plaque installation at the Downey Promenade Tuesday. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY - The city of Downey honored former city manager Gilbert Livas on Tuesday, unveiling a plaque at the Downey Promenade commemorating his time leading the city.

Members of the City Council, former mayors, city staff, and a handful of local business owners and residents gathered to celebrate Livas, who retired just a few months ago after 14 years with the city, 10 of which at its helm.

“Gil, look around you; this is a true testament of what you meant to Downey,” said Mayor Blanca Pacheco.

“This is an opportunity to say, ‘Thank you Gil,” said Councilwoman Claudia M. Frometa. “You are loved, you are missed every day. Your leadership, always making things happen, and making sure the council members – I know we are always having different priorities - but you managed to bring us all together in unison.”

Former mayor Kirk Cartozian described Livas’ time with the city as “the greatest era in the history of our city for commercial development.”

“Economic development in Downey has been rich, but it’s been rich during a certain amount of time,” said Cartozian. “That inflection point really comes to when Gilbert came to the city of Downey.”

Former Mayor Roger Brossmer said Downey pre and post-Livas were “different towns.”

“Economic development is thrown around a lot by cities, but few have the revitalization of a city Downey has experienced, and as shared, most of that credit goes to Gilbert. It’s really his expertise,” said Livas. “Gilbert will tell you that economic development the city has experienced was led by a qualified economic development department…While that’s true, all great teams need to have a coach and a leader; Gil was that person.”

“Gil had the vision, and more importantly, Gil had the skill set to pull together the right moves to make these things happen.”

Livas, who was joined by his family at the ceremony, expressed gratitude to those in attendance, as well as the staff and councils he worked with throughout his tenure.

“It only happens if everybody is working together in concert,” said Livas. “When you have a council that supports the staff, and supports the vision, that we’re all pulling on the same side of the rope…They’ve let me pick the people and assemble the team that I needed to get the job done. You don’t find that; that is the unicorn quite frankly. You see it in all the activities that have happened in the city, and it’s because of the council members and the political stability that this community has had for the fifty-plus years of its existence.”

“It’s incumbent upon this community to make sure that we continue that, that you continue that.”

He called it “a lifetime honor.”

“I miss everybody; I miss the people here,” said Livas. “It’s a fantastic organization, it’s a fantastic city, but it’s been a lifetime accomplishment for me and something I am so proud of.”

Gilbert Livas honored with plaque at Downey Promenade