Similar on paper, Carrie Uva & Mario Trujillo work to differentiate themselves

DOWNEY — With voting already underway, two front runners have emerged in Downey’s City Council District 5 race. Candidates Mario Trujillo and Carrie Uva seem to be the favorites to take Downey’s all-city seat.

Below is how they compare in several categories.

Platforms/ideology

Trujillo is running on a platform of public safety, economic recovery, health and education.

He has also said that he wishes to see no new taxes implemented on residents.

Uva, similarly, is running on stimulation of the economy, public safety, and quality of life.

Particularly, Uva has indicated that she wishes to address the city’s aging infrastructure.

Occupation

Trujillo is a former elementary teacher in South Los Angeles. He was sworn in as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney in 1996, where he has earned a 92% conviction rate over 115 jury trials.

Uva is a practicing Attorney specializing in Wills & Trusts for 25 years. She is also a Real Estate Broker specializing in Residential, Commercial, and Probate sales. She has been with 24 Hour Real Estate for 26 years.

Community Involvement

Trujillo is a former president of Downey Kiwanis Club and former lieutenant governor of Kiwanis Club division 13. He is also a Downey Recreation and Community Services commissioner, appointed by Downey Mayor Blanca Pacheco. He is formerly a board member of the Downey YMCA.

Uva is a Neighborhood Watch Captain, served as President of the Downey Association of Realtors in 2016, as well as President of the Chamber of Commerce for 2019-2020. She is a member of the Downey Lions Club, Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis Club, Downey Sister Cities, and a member of the Downey A CERT team.  She was also appointed a commissioner of the Downey Public Works Committee and the  Measure S Oversight Committee.

Endorsements

Trujillo is endorsed by Downey Mayor Blanca Pacheco, Downey Mayor Pro Tem Claudia M. Frometa, Downey Council Member Alex Saab, former Downey Mayor Fernando Vasquez, as well as current Downey Planning commissioners Miguel Duarte and Nolveris Frometa. He also has the endorsement of Assembly member Cristina Garcia.

Uva has the endorsement of four of five current City Council members (all but Alex Saab), as well as the entire Downey Unified School Board. She is also endorsed by former mayors Roger Brossmer, Mario Guerra, Robert Brazelton, and Joseph Di Loreto, Downey Planning Commissioners Patrick Owens, Jimmy Spathos, and Nolveris Frometa, The Downey Association of Realtors, and former 58th District Assemblywoman Sally Havice, amongst other namely community commissioners.

Funding

There’s really no comparison in terms of amount of funding; Trujillo has outraised Uva (and everyone else for that matter) with an astonishing $135,526 in campaign contributions, according to financial disclosure documents filed last month. By comparison, Uva gathered $27,849.

Trujillo attributes his campaign’s financial success to his impressive rolodex.

“I’m blessed, I’m fortunate,” said Trujillo. “The fact of the matter is, I have a very extensive network throughout Los Angeles County, particularly in the legal communities.”

“I’ve been involved in political campaigns since I was 12…the fact of the matter is I have a very large rolodex, and in my 30 years of service in education and with the District Attorney’s office, I have made a lot of relationships, acquaintances; people who have become friends who have absolutely no interest in the city of Downey. The only interest they have is supporting me and my vision for trying to make this a better community…most of my money has comes from friends and relationships in the legal field. People who are my friends, and they do well.”

He added that he’s “in it to win it.”

“I want to do this; if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do something right,” said Trujillo. “It’s not like I ran in a previous district and I lost, couldn’t carry my own district and now I think I can run city-wide and win it.”

“Listen, everybody can run if they want to. I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right, and I’m going to get the resources to get my message out to the voters.”

Uva enjoys somewhat of a homefield advantage in this category; while nowhere near Trujillo’s dollar amount, her ratio of contributions from within Downey far outweighs his.

“I definitely feel I have the strong support of the community,” said Uva. “Most of my business comes from Downey residents; I’ve reached out to Downey past clients and asked for their support. You can see that’s where a majority of the money has come from.”

“They believe in me, they want me to win this, they donated to the campaign, and they’re helping me spread the word to their neighbors, friends, and people that they know who live in Downey; they’re all actively trying to spread the word…I don’t know the numbers and the statistics of the percentage, but I’m pretty sure it’s a very high percentage of the money that came from within the city, whereas my opponent the money didn’t come from the city; I think his percentage is probably 75-80% from outside the city of Downey. A lot of that money came from corporations and law firms, and outside interest groups and I don’t have any of those kinds of contributions; my contributions come purely from business owners here in town, and residents.

In their own words:

Both candidates were asked what separated them from the other.

Trujillo leaned on his knowledge of the criminal justice system, saying that his 30 years of “dedicated public service working for the government” set him apart.

“While other candidates may talk about doing the work, I’ve been doing the work. For the last 24 years, I’ve been in the trenches working with law enforcement to protect our community, specifically the southeast.”

“I know the intricacies of a case, from investigation, to capture and prosecution. What I have learned is we have a lot of work to do, particularly in the area of misdemeanors…The fact of the matter is our sheriffs have been releasing people in this catch and release program for decades, and no one is talking about that. I know that because I’ve been in the system, I’m part of the system, and I see the parts of the system that need to be fixed. I don’t think Ms. Uva is even familiar with the Catch and Release Program.”

“We have to be held accountable when it comes to our taxpayer money, and I have ideas on how we’re going to do that, on how we’re going to not only modernize the police department, but make it more effective so that we can not only capture people, but also deter people from crime.”

Uva noted her vast experience in Downey.

“I know Downey from 55 years ago to the present. I don’t think any other candidate can say that,” said Uva. “I served on the public works committee for the past a little over four years; learned a lot about our city and our infrastructure and how things work by serving on the public works committee. I’ve also had the honor and the pleasure to serve on the Measure S committee…being part of that committee has also taught me a lot about our city and how things work…served as a past president of the Chamber of Commerce – just finished that presidency in June – and got to meet a lot of business owners, got to help a lot of business owners, especially during the whole COVID thing…that was a great level of experience for me as well.”

“I feel I have a great deal of experience that will definitely help me as a council member to know what needs to be done; I already kind of know a little bit of what’s going on and can use my past experience to help me in that roll once elected.