Serving Downey was the greatest honor of my life

Councilman Rick Rodriguez served on the Downey City Council for four years. He leaves office next month after declining to seek a second and final term. (Photo by Claudia Gomez)

In 2015, my life looked very different. At that time, my two combat veteran sons had returned from war and began now working with me in our family business. It was clear to me that Uncle Sam, my wife and I had done a good job preparing our children for leadership roles within our family business, and it was now time for me to retire.

Soon after my retirement from our family business, I was approached by several former Downey mayors to run for office. I quickly fell in love with the idea of being an elected official that would serve my city. The decision was easy because of my past 30 years of volunteer service in the City of Downey. This would be the greatest honor of my life, to serve as a member of the city council and eventually become the 45th mayor of our great city.

My goals while in office were simple: I planned to work just as hard as an elected official as I did growing my company for the past 23 years. I committed to spending long hours to accomplish my goals and be accessible to the residents of Downey.

These are some of my programs and accomplishments that I am the most proud of:

Pets for Troops:

Providing honorable US veterans with an emotional service animal of their choice, free of charge. Downey would cover half of the adoption fees, a tactical service vest and leash to display their military patches, 100 lbs of dry dog food, and entry level discipline training provided by Petco. If adopting a dog, SEAACA would pay the other half of adoption fees.

For this program, the City of Downey received a national recognition known as “A Better City.”

Clergy Council:

A collaboration of local churches with members from all denominations that provided volunteer services to our community. Providing immediate resources for feeding and rapid re-housing for those in need. We were further able to expand our Downey Police Department’s chaplain program by engaging all places of worship within our city.

Downey Care Collaborative (DCC):

A collaboration of Department of Children’s Family Services, Downey Police Department, Downey Unified School District counselors, probation officers, and Gangs Out Of Downey to help our foster children graduate and succeed. The DCC would further provide gifts and support for our foster youth, including Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving meals, Easter gifts, birthday presents, and graduation recognition gifts.

Mayor’s Servant Heart Award:

Provided recognition to a variety of Downey residents and our business owners who have demonstrated a random act of kindness to others. We have so many kind and generous people within our city, that are always willing to help a stranger, I wanted to celebrate them and their actions.

Downey’s Volunteer One Day of Service:

A gathering of our local non-profit clubs, church groups and service clubs to provide “one day of service” to our community; tree planting, helping seniors with household needs, gardening, graffiti removal, and painting were just some of our actions that took place on our One Day Of Service. On our very first day, we had over 600 volunteers that came out to lend a hand and work hard to help others. I am hoping that this will carry on for years to come.

Coyotes Out Of Downey:

With the increase of coyotes being seen within our city, I was approached by our residents that had lost a pet or had an interaction with a coyote in our city. I was able to visit multiple neighboring cities to review their best practices for our city’s coyote problem. We created an online coyote mapping and recording system to report all sightings and interaction with coyote within our city. We developed our very own volunteer Coyotes Out Of Downey group (COOD). This group of volunteers proceeded to educate our residents with coyote awareness/ training education programs and meetings, part of the Neighborhood Watch. We provided “Beware of Coyote” signs and printed materials to residents who had requested them. Lastly, by reporting any coyote actions, we were able to provide accurate data to California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Business Watch:

A monthly meeting with DPD and the local Downey business community to discuss the latest crime trends and protection efforts. This is a great way for members of our business community to have direct access to our Downey Police Department and learn how to keep their business safe.

Military Awareness Day:

This is an annual event whereas we allow ALL of our U.S. military branches of service to speak with our Downey students from all Downey high schools, both public and private. The true benefit of this program is to educate our Downey students how to earn a pathway to success through their military service. This program was created by my own children as they both earned their college money and degrees through their military service, and they are now successful within their post military service careers.

Homeless Outreach Program:

As part of my commitment to minimize our homeless numbers in our city, I attended the Service Provider Area (SPA-7) meetings. This is a regional meeting that discusses the collectible efforts in providing services like affordable housing, job training, food banks and access to health care for those who are experiencing homelessness. The best part of this program is the development of affordable housing for veterans to be built at the American Legion site in the southwest portion of our city.

Public Infrastructure:

Starting in 2017, our community began the most robust infrastructure improvement and construction program in Downey’s history. This included a brand new library (opening very soon), four new fire stations, six renovated parks, a new outdoor plaza at the Downey Theatre, and much more.

In conclusion, thank you ladies and gentlemen of Downey for allowing me to be of service to you and our wonderful city. Without a doubt, this has been the honor of my life to serve as your elected official for the City of Downey. I leave with a full heart of doing my best that I could to keep our city moving forward, while maintaining our positive attitude.

I thank my wife and children for allowing me this time to serve away from my family. I pray that the new incoming council members will continue the good positive work that our previous elected officials have been doing for over 60 years.

Always forward and God bless!