Pacheco, Alvarez, Trujillo grab council seats
Mayor Blanca Pacheco and Candidates Catherine Alvarez and Mario Trujillo all carried a consistent lead through the election night Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
This story has been updated.
DOWNEY - Mayor Blanca Pacheco and candidates Catherine Alvarez and Mario Trujillo all maintained comfortable leads on election night, all but securing their spots on the City Council.
Pacheco – the sole incumbent in Downey’s 2020 election - carried a comfortable lead in District 1 throughout Tuesday evening with nearly 70% of the vote.
As of Wednesday evening., the mayor had 4,403 (69.66%) votes to Contreras’s 1,918 (30.34%).
District 3 was mainly a contest between Alvarez and candidate Eric Pierce.
Alvarez, founder of the Downey Tenants Union, secured the upset with 3,830 (48.41%) votes, with Pierce trailing at 3,416 (43.18%).
Candidate Dalejuan Peevy never seemed to make it off the ground, trailing by a large margin almost immediately. He grabbed 665 (8.41%) votes.
In District 5, Trujillo maintained consistent distance between Carrie Uva, who many believed was his most immediate contender to the city-wide seat.
He currently sits with 14,258 (46.94%) votes compared to Uva’s 10,941 (36.02%).
Other District 5 candidates Juan “Joey” Martinez and Arturo Gonzalez collected 4,279 (14.09%) and 895 (2.95%) votes, respectively.
Results are still being updated on results.lavote.net
Pacheco was obviously pleased with results, saying that she was “overwhelmed with the support of the residents.”
Trujillo said he was “excited,” adding that “we have a lot of work to do.”
“I’m excited about getting to the business of serving and protecting,” said Trujillo. “I think what our residents want most from our city government is a government that protects us and provides services.”
“I am so thankful to the voters for giving me the opportunity to continue to serve in the capacity of protecting our families and our community, and allow me to continue to use my background and experience in law enforcement…I’m excited about getting to deliver these services and make our city more efficient.”
Alvarez did not respond to a call for comment.
The two active Downey Unified School Board contests provided clear leaders from the get-go in Jose Rodriguez and Giggy Perez-Saab.
In Trustee Area 2, Jose Rodriguez earned 2,097 (47.81%) votes. His opponents Cathy Ballon-Godinez and Angie Radimaker were unable to catch him throughout the entire night, though stayed tight with each other, coming in at 1,159 (26.42%) and 1,130 (25.76) respectively.
Likewise, in Trustee Area 3, Saab collected a commanding 3,205 (61.41%) votes; over 2,100 more than the next highest vote getter, Carlos Avalos.
Avalos tallied 1,039 (19.91%) of votes, followed by Ethan Matthew Rodriguez at 975 (18.68%).
At the Representative level, 40th District Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard’s return was never in question, dominating her opponent with 90,612 (72.83%) of the votes.