Who are these people?

The great British playwright and Shakespeare contemporary Ben Jonson was the first of a number of classical British writers to insist, “Speak that I may know thee.” Implicit in that request is the idea that the words we choose to speak, the sentences we form, the skill with which we listen and communicate our thoughts and feelings, altogether express us, our sensibility, our general education and even our level of mental sophistication. 

The Downey City Council Candidates Forum that took place in a Zoom meeting on October 1st revealed that, for the most part, the latter quality is in short supply. A number of the candidates didn’t seem to understand that occupying public office, or even running for public office, requires a level of responsibility that precludes slander, which is actionable, or reckless assertions disguised as fact, which is subject to scrutiny and can easily expose the plaintiff as a fool.

This does not speak well for the future of Downey.

What are we to make therefore of the mission statements and claims made by Carrie Uva and Mario Trujillo to the Patriot’s Alex Dominguez in last week’s edition? Both are running for the Council seat in District 5. Uva ran against Claudia Frometa in the last election cycle. Trujillo has raised a record-breaking $135,526 in an effort some claim to buy his way into office. Both have notable endorsements, Mayor Blanca Pacheco and Pro Tem Mayor Claudis Frometa, Councilman Alex Saab, former Downey Mayor Fernando Vasquez and Assembly member Cristina Garcia for Trujillo, all city council members save Saab, former mayors Roger Brossmer, Mario Guerra, Joseph Di Loreto and the Downey Unified School board for Uva, among others.

   The questions the citizens of Downey should have concerning Uva and Trujillo ought to be the same the same as they would have for all the other candidates, and may well have had for some time, particularly concerning the city’s current moment: who are these people? What makes them uniquely qualified to hold office? Do any of them have advanced degrees or study in relevant fields like economics, public administration, history or political science? Have any of them enjoyed widespread success and prominent reputations in their fields? Are any of them mindful of the developments characteristic of what’s been termed The New Urbanism, which deals with the issues of what constitutes the livable city and the institutional foundations of community? How many of them are conversant with the works of Jane Mayer and Lewis Mumford, who famously wrote about architecture and the look of things, and how that look affects the human spirit

These are not frivolous questions. The history of Downey over the past decade or so has been characterized by the surrender of city leaders to the interests of developers, most notably those of The 77-acre Promenade, former home of the Apollo space program and one of the largest parcels of its kind to become available in the region. The Promenade’s original developer promised that it would not be yet another shopping mall, and our city of magical thinking believed him. Even if the deadly Coronavirus  hadn’t taken its toll on local businesses, by design it would still resemble a desolate moonscape, with no greenery, no place to walk or sit, no fountains, public art or park-like amenities, not even a band shell for outdoor summer concerts. It’s anti-human in scale, built to accommodate car traffic, not the ambulatory human being.

It appears that all too often the city has been willing to roll over for anyone with a lucrative development or service scheme. The KB townhouse complex that stretches between 5th and 7thStreets on Paramount, has been met with universal derision from the citizens of Downey for its big boxy appearance, which resembles a dockload of international shipping containers, and for the way it crowds off sidewalk traffic. VenueTech runs the Downey Civic Theater, the city’s largest cultural venue by far, without developing or producing any original shows or, for that matter, local talent, while doing nothing to stand between the theater and a $600 thousand a year price tag for Downey. Yet that contract keeps getting renewed.

Both Uva and Trujillo are running on a platform of economic recovery, but they don’t say how they plan to do it. Partnerships with China? Recruitment of high tech companies or branches of blockbuster outfits like Amazon? We could use infusions of cash. There's no sizable local manufacturing sector. Downey’s per capita income is a paltry $22,000. Family income averages a more manageable $70,000 and median housing prices in an endlessly spiraling market are now $75,000 below the Southern California avaerage.

Trujillo is a former elementary schoolteacher and L.A. Deputy District Attorney. Uva is an attorney specializing in wills and trusts and has served as president of the Chamber of Commerce. Neither of them have apparently had to manage especially large personnel staffs. There’s no evidence that either has had a hand in writing any kind of legislation. 

“I know Downey from 55 years to the present,” she says, as if that’s a qualification for the demands of public office, and adds,

“ 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.”

Question: experience doing what?

Uva comes off as a pleasant figure, if relentlessly ordinary. Trujillo has one potentially serious drawback, which could dampen his effectiveness in office: he owns a business in downtown Downey, and if elected would have to recuse himself from any vote that would have a material bearing on the business of one of the most crucial areas of the city. Who would want to vote in a candidate who has no voice in the future of a vital part of the city, and hence the city as a whole?

Though Downey is rich in civic and community services, one incident sums up my experience in observing Downey city leadership and its disconnect from Downey’s most vulnerable people. 

I was having lunch several years ago with a now-retired councilman. The subject of a new residential and commercial development came up, which required an easement from Firestone Blvd. There were several older structures set back which were occupied by lower-income tenants and would be taken over by the new owners.

“What will happen to them?” I asked.

“They’ll be offered a chance to pay rent,” was the reply.

“What if they can’t afford it?”

“Then they’re out of luck.”