Dear Downey Family, I want to first of all extend a warm greeting to all of our wonderful Downey residents. As your new Mayor, I feel extremely honored and humbled to represent our City and I look forward to an exciting and productive year!

Where do I begin...first, we kicked off the year by introducing one of my major initiatives- Stay Fit 2014. Stay Fit is a continuation of former Mayor Guerra's Healthy Downey campaign, which he introduced for the first time last year.

My goal for Stay Fit 2014 is to continue promoting a healthier Downey, while focusing on our well-being through mind, body and soul. With the continued support of all of our community partners - Kaiser, Downey YMCA, Care More, PIH Downey, Downey Art Vibe, and the Downey Patriot, just to name a few - we will continue to work hard to promote healthy and active lifestyles. We will once again host Healthy Downey events such as 5k for TLC, YMCA Kids Fun Day/Carnival of Champions, Bike to School Day, and Kids Day, among many others. I want for us as a community to work together in order to not only inspire ourselves to live a healthier life, but our future generation - our youth! For more information on how to get involved, please contact our Parks & Recreation Department at (562) 904-7236 or visit our City website.

To go along with my Stay Fit Downey theme, we have several, new and unique events lined up for the year. Save the date for Tour De Downey Bike Tour and Make Music Downey on Saturday, June 14th. This event will not only encourage bicycling throughout the City, but will help bring together some of the best local musicians to the Downtown area. Get ready to enjoy Summer Sunset Rooftop Movies and Music Events, which will run from August to October. More details will become available soon, so please check our website!

Downey will also experience an International Food Festival in Downtown Downey this September, which will feature a variety of delicious ethnic cuisine. From Cuban, to Lebanese, to Korean and Mexican, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

In addition, the City will provide the first ever FIFA World Cup Viewing Party. This is sure to attract many of our soccer enthusiasts and we will kick off the event on Saturday, June 22nd when the U.S. plays against Portugal. We will host another viewing on Saturday, July 13th for the finals. Very exciting so stay tuned as we will begin publicizing all of these events in the next couple of months!

I'm also very excited for the launching of our new City branding. We are working with the Downey Art Vibe/Stay Gallery to roll out a whole new unique and distinctive brand that will better serve to market and promote our City. We feel this will help convey our City's real identity and will help put Downey on the radar, especially for economic development purposes. You will begin seeing marketing for our new brand here in the Downey Patriot, as well as in all City publications. This new brand will bring out the best of our City and I can't wait until it is revealed.

I would like to encourage you all to nominate an individual or organization for my Mayor's Healthy Heart Award. This award will be given to those individuals and organizations who are committed to improving the lives of others in our City. Those who make differences in others' lives by improving their emotional, mental and physical health. Please contact the Council office at (562) 904-7274 or visit our website for an application.

Through my monthly Mayor's Corners, I hope to provide you with an insight into what is going on in our City. I welcome your questions and ideas, so please feel free to reach me at City Hall, (562) 904-7274 or by email at fvasquez@downeyca.org.

I look forward to meeting many more of my fellow Downey residents and to serving you as your Mayor. Until next month!

Sincerely, Mayor Fernando Vasquez

********** Published: Feb. 6, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 43