OPINION: Mario Guerra is best bet for interim District 2 appointment

Former Downey mayor Mario Guerra has applied to fill the vacancy on the City Council. Photo by Claudia Gomez

I left last week’s City Council meeting angry and feeling helpless.

Our city leadership is in shambles, and it feels like our city is spiraling - if not in outright collapse - because of it.

The once bad-ass, all-woman Mayor / Mayor Pro Tem team that led our city through the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be in the midst of a messy break-up, and Councilwoman Claudia Frometa tends to be the one marooned on her own island because of it.

Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez was served papers of intent to recall…again.

Councilman Mario Trujillo is a proven wildcard with every vote; he’s surprised me on more than one occasion.

Then there’s Mayor Blanca Pacheco who seems - at the very least - distracted by her current bid for State Assembly. She openly described the council as “divided” last Tuesday. She’s not wrong, but it’s not something you want to hear, especially from the dais.

Lastly, we now have an empty seat in District 2. The council voted 3-1 to attempt to fill that void, and will have until May 13 to do so.

There is only one person who makes sense to appoint, and that’s Mario Guerra.

A lot can be said about Guerra, both positive and not so flattering. Yes, “Downey’s biggest cheerleader” can also be polarizing.

Yet if there’s one thing that can’t be denied, it’s that he's got enough background to stabilize the currently rocking city boat.

Guerra served on the city council from 2006 to 2014, including two year-long stints as mayor from 2008-09 and 2013-14. He served on the budget subcommittee and the Downtown subcommittee, and helped navigate Downey through a recession while building up its reserves.

He was also critical in bringing Porto’s Bakery to Downey. He damn-near brought Tesla on board too. The development of the former Rockwell property into the Promenade is also part of his legacy.

Finally – and I cannot emphasize this enough – Guerra was part of the last city manager transition.

My point being that if you can get past the bold personality, Guerra is a proven, capable leader to our community. And at a time where there is so much at stake for our city (not least of which being hiring a new city manager in a few months), proven, capable leadership is exactly what we need.

Plus, having already served two terms, Guerra is not eligible to run for the seat again come November. That means the residents of District 2 would still have their say in who sits at the dais as their representative in just a matter of months, while having someone to call with their issues in the meantime.

For lack of a better way of saying it, if Downey needs a ringer right now, then Guerra should be our guy. He’s a sure bet for a short commitment.

Guerra has a passion for this city. He brings knowledge and experience, with a resume to back it up.

And he may be our best hope for these next nine, critical months.

Alex Dominguez is a journalist and staff writer for the Downey Patriot.