Timothy Horn selected for city council vacancy

DOWNEY — The Downey City Council on Tuesday selected Timothy Horn to fill the empty District 1 seat on an interim basis. He will be sworn in Thursday.

Candidates included Horn, Elvira Meraz, Horacio Ortiz Jr., and Hector Lujan.

The appointment comes at a critical juncture for the city, as Councilwoman Catherine Alvarez will face a recall election next week and could be removed from office. The potential lack of representation in Districts 1 and 3 would leave the city council unable to conduct city business should one member be unavailable to vote or forced to abstain.

Still, the decision would not come easily for the city council who – after questioning each candidate - arrived an impasse between candidates Lujan, who was supported by Mayor Claudia M. Frometa and Councilman Hector Sosa, and Ortiz, who Mayor Pro Tem Mario Trujillo and Alvarez backed.

Ortiz serves as Trujillo’s representative on the Planning Commission.

Frometa and Sosa both spoke to Lujan’s experience with the city, including his previous tenure on the Planning Commission. Frometa noted that Lujan had not indicated if he would run for the seat come November’s election, as Ortiz and Meraz intend.

“I know there are two candidates that have mentioned to us their interest in running for the seat. We want to be as impartial as we can, and we want to give them a fair opportunity,” said Frometa.

Being an incumbent is widely considered to be an advantage in an election.

Trujillo disagreed, however.

“If anything, I think they’re going to have to work extra hard in November; they’re still going to have to knock on doors, they’re still going to have to earn what we believe we earned by winning our elections here today,” said Trujillo. “It’s disheartening to know that because we think it will be a political advantage to one candidate, that we forget that the residents of District 1 will go unrepresented for eight months.”

Unable to break the deadlock and with a regular meeting still ahead of them, the city council agreed to hold the item and move on to other city business before returning to the matter.

However, when talks resumed just under an hour later, no one showed any willingness to budge.

Additionally, Ortiz withdrew from the process during public comment in order to “help my community and be part of this change.”

“When I came to this appointment, I came with a purpose; I came to serve my community, for you guys to see who I really am and how much I care for my community,” said Ortiz. “It’s unfortunate that right now the current council is pretty divided…that’s the last thing I want for my community.”

The city council continued in circles for several minutes with failed nominations for Lujan, Horn, and Meraz, as well as a motion by Trujillo to leave the seat vacant until November.

Tensions rose to their highest when a frustrated Trujillo indicated he would leave the meeting.

“At this point, if I remember my rights and obligations correctly, I’m just going to recuse myself,” said Trujillo. “I have no further comment. It’s clear to me that we’re at an impasse. While we can certainly go through this process, back and forth, I just don’t think that it’s reachable.”

This sparked a coarse exchange with Frometa, though Trujillo ultimately agreed to stay.

A breakthrough finally happened on another motion to appoint Horn, which was seconded by Alvarez. Sosa and Frometa, who had previously voted against Horn’s appointment, relented, with Sosa calling it a “compromise.”

Horn has served as a member of the public works committee. During his interview, he indicated that his priorities would center around public safety and parking.

He said he was “ready to hit the ground running.”

The District 1 seat was vacated by then Mayor Blanca Pacheco in December after her election to the state Assembly.