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Hector Sosa Newsletter — April 26, 2026
📬 Councilmember Hector Sosa | District 2, Downey | April 27, 2026
Dear Downey neighbors,
A quick look at the week behind us, and the one ahead. The City Council reconvenes tomorrow night after a brief gap, the official LA County Science Festival ran on Sunday with our own Columbia Memorial Space Center as the producer, and Downey kids spent Earth Day reminding the rest of us what stewardship actually looks like. Let me walk you through it.
🏛️ Council & City Hall
🔹 Next Regular Council Meeting: Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 PM: The Council reconvenes in the Chambers at Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave. As you may have noticed, the April 14 meeting was cancelled, so this is our first regular session since March 24. The agenda has been posted, and I always recommend reviewing it before the meeting rather than after.
→ 🎯 Why I keep flagging this: Public comment is the single most direct way to put something on the Council's radar. Whether you show up in person, submit written comment, or watch the livestream, the room belongs to residents as much as it does to the five of us on the dias. If something on the agenda matters to you, do not wait for the recap.
👉 View agendas and city documents
💼 Economic Development & Local Business
🔹 Downey on the Regional Stage: City of STEM + LA Maker Faire, Sunday, April 26: Yesterday in Exposition Park, more than 250 exhibitors filled the South Lawn for the official Science Festival of Los Angeles County, drawing families from across the region for a free, all-day celebration of science, engineering, and creativity. The festival is produced by the Columbia Memorial Space Center right here in Downey, in partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library.
→ ⚡ Why this matters for us: When you hear "Downey on the world stage," World Cup is the first thing that comes to mind. But this is the other half of that story. The official science festival of an entire county of nearly ten million people is run out of our city. That is not branding. That is genuine civic identity, and the planned expansion of the Space Center is going to multiply what we can do from here.
👉 Learn about the Columbia Memorial Space Center
🔹 Taco Tuesday at La Perla Del Mar: A reminder that the most reliable economic development plan in any city is residents who choose local. La Perla Del Mar's Taco Tuesday delivers good food, friendly service, and a price point that makes weeknight family dinners doable. That is the formula our small businesses run on, and it works only when we show up for them.
→ 💡 A small habit, a real impact: Pick one local restaurant, one local shop, or one local service this week instead of the chain. Multiply that across thousands of Downey households, and you get the kind of resilient main street economy no zoning code alone can build.
📚 Schools & Youth
🔹 St. Raymond School Earth Day Art Contest, Wednesday, April 22: I had the honor of serving as the official judge of the St. Raymond School Earth Day Art Contest, escorted through the gallery by members of the Student Council. Picking the top three was harder than I expected. Every piece reflected real thought about the planet these kids are inheriting, and it showed.
→ 🎯 What stuck with me: Earth Day is not a curriculum requirement at most schools. When a school like St. Raymond builds an art contest around it, that is teachers and administrators choosing to make environmental stewardship part of how kids see themselves. Thank you to the St. Raymond community for the invitation, and for the work you do every day.
🔹 Assistance League Assisteens at City Hall, Wednesday, April 8: Earlier this month, I had the chance to lead a group of Assistance League Assisteens on a tour of City Hall. The questions these kids brought to the conversation were sharp and thoughtful, exactly the kind of civic curiosity that pays dividends a generation from now.
→ 💡 About the Assisteens program: Assisteens is the high school auxiliary of the Assistance League of Downey, with members committing at least 40 service hours each year to support local philanthropic programs. It is a structured way for our students to lead, organize, and serve, and I am grateful for their work and for the chance to be part of it.
👉 Learn about the Assisteens program
🎨 Arts & Community
🔹 Downey Symphony Spring Concert Recap: Saturday, April 18, Downey Theatre. Music Director Sharon Lavery's program delivered everything it promised, from a Tupac orchestral arrangement to the world premiere of "Moth" by Warren High alum Flora Cheng. Before the concert, the mezzanine art exhibit drew its own crowd. I came home with a piece called "Sharkie gotta eat" by a DUSD third grader, and honestly, I am stoked to own it.
→ 🎯 My take: A 68-year-old volunteer-driven orchestra premiering a new work by a Warren High graduate, with original art by an elementary student hanging in the lobby, is the kind of cultural moment most cities never produce. Downey did. Councilmember Pemberton and I committed to rallying broader support for the Symphony, and weeks like this one make the case better than any pitch I could write.
🔹 St. Pius x St. Matthias Impact Gala, Saturday, April 25: Daisy and I joined the St. Pius x St. Matthias community for the PMA Impact Gala, a fundraiser that supports both schools. A genuinely fun evening with families who care deeply about the schools their kids attend, raising money for the programs that make those schools stronger.
→ ⚡ Why these events matter: Private and parochial schools are part of Downey's education ecosystem, and fundraisers like the PMA Impact Gala keep their programs running. When a community invests in every kind of school, every kid benefits.
📅 Coming Up
🔹 🏛️ City Council Meeting: Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 PM, Council Chambers, Downey City Hall.
🔹 ♻️ Keep Downey Beautiful Cleanup: Saturday, May 2, 9:00 to 10:00 AM. A simple, hands-on way to keep our shared spaces looking the way they should. No registration required, just show up ready to work.
👉 View the Keep Downey Beautiful schedule
🔹 🚒 Touch-A-Truck: Saturday, May 23, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. A family favorite. Kids climb on fire trucks, police vehicles, and public works equipment and meet the people who operate them. Mark your calendar.
📱 Stay Connected
Got a pothole to report, graffiti to flag, or a service request to submit? The Downey Connect App is the fastest, most direct path to getting things done. Available for both Apple and Android.
👉 Download the Downey Connect App
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more real-time updates, event highlights, and a look at what I am working on between newsletters.
The week ahead matters as much as the one behind us. Council meets tomorrow night, Keep Downey Beautiful kicks off May at Independence Park on the 2nd, and Touch-A-Truck rounds out the month. Every one of those is a chance to plug in, and I hope to see some of you there.
Questions, concerns, or ideas? Hit reply. I read every message.
