Mario Guerra for city council

The instability in Downey continues.

The latest development is that assistant city manager John Oskoui has been placed on administrative leave for reasons that have yet to be publicly disclosed. In the hierarchy of Downey’s executive management team, Oskoui is the No. 3 in command, behind deputy city manager Aldo Schindler and city manager Gilbert Livas.

Schindler leaves this week for a new position in Moreno Valley. He likely saw the writing on the wall when the City Council decided to part ways with Livas, whose last day in Downey is June 30.

City attorney Yvette Abich Garcia turned in her resignation Wednesday. Others are expected to leave as well, dominoes in a mass exodus from City Hall, where morale is said to be at an all-time low.

You can blame the City Council for this mess. Mayor Blanca Pacheco has been MIA as she campaigns for state office; Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez and Councilman Mario Trujillo were the main antagonists behind Livas’s forced retirement; and Sean Ashton voted to kick out Livas before abruptly resigning.

It remains to be seen who will be Downey’s city manager come July 1. There are no obvious candidates that can be promoted from within and the City Council’s dysfunction will hamper Downey’s ability to attract a competent city manager.

The best thing the City Council can do now is appoint an experienced leader to serve the remainder of Ashton’s term. That person is Mario Guerra.

Of the six people who applied to fill the vacancy, Guerra is the most experienced in municipal government. He previously served two terms on the City Council, so he knows how city government works. He’s gone through the complicated process of hiring a city manager, which would be extremely valuable to the City Council in the coming months. And of the six candidates, Guerra is the only person ineligible to run for that seat in November, meaning he is not using the position for political leverage.

After Guerra, the most logical candidate is Donald La Plante, who spent more than 40 years on the Downey Unified School District school board. But there is a stark difference in the responsibilities of school board members and city council members, and with only six months remaining on Ashton’s expiring term, Downey doesn’t have the luxury of a prolonged learning curve.

Each of the six candidates should be applauded for offering to sacrifice their time, talents and privacy for the sake of helping Downey at this critical juncture. Downey is better when residents get involved.

But the clear choice to serve on the City Council on an interim basis is Mario Guerra.