Hector Sosa announces candidacy for city council

Hector Sosa intends to run for Downey’s District 2 city council seat. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY — Current Gangs out of Downey President Hector Sosa has announced his intent to pursue the District 2 city council seat soon to be vacated by Councilman Sean Ashton.

Having moved to Downey with his mother and siblings as a child, Sosa, 48, grew up in the city and is a product of Downey schools. He established his roots in the city with his wife Daisy – whom he was high school sweethearts with at Warren High School – and his two sons.

Sosa graduated from California State University Los Angeles with a degree in Business Administration. He currently works as a registered representative with New York Life.

What Sosa is most likely known for, however, is a litany of volunteer work and leadership positions.

“I’ve been involved in the community even before I remember,” said Sosa. “Even before we had kids, I would volunteer and coach at DJAA in all three sports just to give back to the community.”

In addition to his current role as the president of GOOD, Sosa has previously served as a youth ministries teacher at Calvary Chapel Downey, coach and board member at DJAA, and an English literacy tutor at Downey City Library. He is currently a youth coach and board member at West Downey Little League, a college student mentor at Cal State LA, and president-elect of Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis.

Sosa is the first community member other than current incumbents to publicly announce his candidacy.

Despite his long track record of community involvement and several outside suggestions, Sosa says he did not originally plan to run for office.

“All this volunteer work that I’ve been doing for the last several years, and taking these leadership positions, it’s just my way of giving back to the community,” said Sosa. “Downey has been good to my family and I; we love this city.”

It wasn’t until observing the current state of affairs at city hall – notably the announcement of the departure of City Manager Gilbert Livas – that Sosa decided it was time to act.

“The last couple of years I started thinking about it more, and I would say over the last year – especially over the last several months – I’ve really started thinking about it, especially with the developments lately,” Sosa said.

Sosa expressed frustration with the current representation in his district.

“Honestly – just being transparent – I feel like I’m very involved, I talk to a lot of parents, a lot of residents here in the community, we talk about the issues,” said Sosa. “Here in District 2 I feel like we’ve had a lack of true, genuine leadership, of representation of the residents in our district.

“I’m not trying to bash Sean Ashton, but most of the residents I know feel he hasn’t been present in the community. What we need is true representation; someone who genuinely loves Downey and wants to be a voice for the people.”

Ashton was already approaching the end of his second and final term at the end of this year when he unexpectedly announced his resignation last week, citing a job promotion.

If given the opportunity, Sosa plans to throw his name into consideration to fill the seat in the interim period, as well as run in November.

Sosa’s platform is centered around support of public safety, collaboration with Downey Unified School District, support of small business, tackling the homeless problem, and fiscal transparency and responsibility.

His campaign will be funded through campaign fundraisers and contributions, Sosa says. He has also already collected a humble start to his endorsement list, including five DUSD board members (Vice President Martha Sodetani, Clerk Giggy Perez-Saab, Jose Rodriguez, Linda Saloman Saldana, and Nancy Swenson), and former Downey Police Management Association President Captain Mark McDaniel (retired) and former Downey Police Officers Association president Cpl. Mike Pope (retired).

Sosa says that the current time is “an ideal time for someone like me to run.”

“I’m here to – again – provide nonpartisan leadership, to be a voice in the community,” said Sosa. “I’m not looking to enrich myself while in office or after I’m termed out; I want to be a true transparent voice for everyone, even those who don’t vote for me.”

“I serve no outside interests, no personal agenda. I represent Downey. I grew up here, I love this city, and it’s a blessing to call this city home.”

Sosa can be found on Instagram at @hectorsosafordowneydistrict2.