Voting opens for chamber of commerce board seats

DOWNEY — Voting is now open for two looming vacancies on the Downey Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

Five candidates are running for the two seats: Daniel Andrade, Ronald Long, Paula Mejia, Greg Welch and Jeannie Wood.

Voting is open to chamber members; ballots are due by 5 p.m. on April 22.

Below are brief bios of the candidates:

• Daniel Andrade is a real estate broker. He was recently named Ambassador of the Year for his work on the Downey Street Faire, the chamber’s golf tournament, and the Christmas Parade.

  He is married and has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal State Long Beach.

• Ronald Long is employed by Sunrun Solar.

  He is also a recent Ambassador of the Year recipient and has served on the chamber’s Street Faire, Christmas Parade and golf tournament organizing committees.

• Paula Mejia is employed by C&E Capital. She is a chamber ambassador and was named Volunteer of the Year in 2009 and 2016.

  A 25-year Downey resident, she is a member of the Downey Association of Realtors, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the Cerritos College Task Force, and Chico State Parent Board.

• Greg Welch is owner of Risher Mortuary, which was recently named Small Business of the Year.

  He is currently president of the Rotary Club of Downey, is a Downey YMCA board member, a Gangs Out of Downey member, and a chaplain with the Downey Police Department.

• Jeannie Wood works for Albertson’s and is a longtime chamber supporter. She was previously on the chamber board but termed out in 2018.

  She has been a chamber ambassador for 18 years, and helps organize the Christmas Parade, Street Faire and golf tournament.

  A previous Director of the Year recipient, she also belongs to the Downey Elks and served on Downey’s Parks and Recreation Commission.

For questions about the election, call the chamber at (562) 923-2191.