Mayor-elect Hector Sosa outlines 2025 goals
Photo by Alex Dominguez
Now set to lead the city in 2025, Mayor Hector Sosa has laid out his plans and intentions for the coming year, including making meetings more efficient, attracting high-quality employment opportunities, and shining more light on men’s mental health.
Sosa expressed enthusiasm for his upcoming mayoral term.
“I’m excited about it. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been on council and I know this city very well,” said Sosa. “There are a few initiatives I’d like to push, and I believe our council is pretty much on the same page on a lot of things that are beneficial to the city of Downey.”
He said that the current council “works well together.”
“We come from different political ideologies, backgrounds, but I can honestly say that my experience with this council is we’re getting things done,” said Sosa.
On city council meetings, Sosa said that he would put less emphasis on special presentations, which are often held towards the beginning of meetings and before city business.
“I’m going to emphasize running efficient meetings. I’m looking to cut down on some of the presentations,” said Sosa. “What I’d like to do – I do have a few people in mind that I’d like to recognize, some standout citizens who’ve made a difference in our city – but I’d like to switch it up a bit; open it up to the public.
“I want to hear from people. I want to be able to recognize somebody I haven’t even heard of, or somebody I’ve never dealt with. But I want to hear about what they’re doing in the city.”
Sosa clarified that he didn’t believe meetings were currently inefficient, but that “there’s always room for improvement.” That includes making sure that the public has plenty of time to address the city council.
“I want to make sure that we’re there to govern for the residents of Downey,” said Sosa. “We want to make sure that the good residents of Downey have their time to speak in public comment. I think what would help that is if we cut down on some of the presentations.”
Sosa hopes to be able to attract some major player employers to the city as well.
“We used to be an aerospace hub, now we’re somewhat of a mini-medical hub; maybe not mini anymore,” said Sosa. “One of the ideas I’ve tossed around is bringing, for example, a bio-med company to bring in some high paying professional jobs.
“Especially all the retail we have in our city – Downtown Downey, the Promenade, the Landing – there’s going to be further development. We want to be able to create walkability, have not only high-paying jobs, but give them options to shop and dine in our city, which fosters economic growth of the city.”
One of Sosa’s personal projects revolves around men’s mental health.
“There’s sort of a stigma attached to that; it’s a sensitive topic that doesn’t get discussed,” said Sosa. “There’s a lot of pressure on men these days, especially here in California; it’s expensive to live here. We have to ends meet. There’s a lot of pressures in society.
What I want to do is – and I don’t know what the size of this fair would be – we let men and their families in the city of Downey know we’re going to put something together and we’re thinking of you. We want to bring resources to the table, that men know there are resources out there available for men, and it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to go to these organizations for help, because it’s an important topic that should not be ignored.”
There are some things already in progress that Sosa expressed continued support for, namely the Columbia Memorial Space Center expansion, the community garden at Rio San Gabriel Park, a second dog park at Golden Park, and the hiring of eight more police officers through Measure D.
“That’s a legacy project for the city of Downey, and the rich history from the aerospace industry within the city of Downey,” said Sosa, on the CMSC. “We’re looking to have a groundbreaking in the spring of 2025 for the expansion.”
Sosa also made note of the continued growth of the partnership between the city and Downey Unified School District, specifically through a Community Schools Framework.
“There’s so many services through community schools that are provided for our residents, our youth, and the city,” said Sosa. “We want to build upon that, in more of a strategic partnership between the city and the school district to make sure that our students and our residents of Downey, that they’re aware of all the services available to them.”
Other possibilities Sosa mentioned included a small business month, increased education on the city’s mobile app, and a summit for the city’s nonprofits.