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Hector Sosa Newsletter — July 5, 2026
📬 Councilmember Hector Sosa | District 2, Downey | July 6, 2026
Hello Downey,
Two hundred and fifty years. On Saturday, our country marked a milestone very few nations ever reach, and this community celebrated it the way we do most things: with family, with gratitude, and with flags on porches from Gardendale to Firestone.
God bless America, land that I love. This week's update carries some real momentum, including a new city budget taking effect and new City Hall hours starting today, but it also carries a heavy heart. Downey lost one of its finest this week, and I want to start there.
🕊️ Remembering Darrell Jackson
🔹 Our Community Has Lost a Truly Remarkable Person: Darrell Jackson, founder of the 10-20 Club and a pillar of Gangs Out of Downey, has passed away. Darrell dedicated his life to keeping young people on the right path, and generations of Downey kids are better for it. Here is what I shared this week: "He was selfless, caring, and deeply committed to serving others, especially our youth and young adults. Whenever I asked for his help with Little League or mentoring young people, he never hesitated. Darrell had a unique gift for connecting with others and made a lasting impact on countless lives. To me and my family, he was not only an outstanding respected community leader but also a great friend."
→ 🎯 What he taught us: Having served alongside Darrell through Gangs Out of Downey, I saw firsthand what one determined volunteer can do for a city's kids. He will be deeply missed and always remembered as a class act, a solid family man, and a truly special person. I will miss my friend. Thank you for your genuine brotherhood and friendship, Darrell.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 National Night Out Returns Tuesday, August 4: For the 13th year running, the Downey Police Department will host National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Downey Civic Center, 11111 Brookshire Avenue. Expect free food, live entertainment, safety education, resource booths, and plenty for the kids to do.
→ ⚡ Why this one matters to me: Public safety is the largest investment in our city budget, but dollars alone do not build trust. Nights like this one do. When neighbors and officers know each other by name before anything goes wrong, everything that comes after goes better. Mark your calendar now, bring the family, and come meet the people who keep Downey safe.
👉 Read the Downey Patriot's coverage
💰 Budget & Finance
🔹 Downey's New Fiscal Year Began July 1, Backed by Our 14th Consecutive Balanced Budget: On June 23, the Council adopted a structurally balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27, and that spending plan officially took effect last Wednesday. The roughly $122 million General Fund covers the services residents rely on every day: police, fire, public works, parks and recreation, and our library. The plan also puts $500,000 in Measure D funds toward installing security cameras at all city parks, an addition council members pushed for during the June budget workshop.
→ 📊 By the numbers: Fourteen straight balanced budgets is not luck. It is discipline, year after year, from our city staff and this Council. As a financial services professional, I read a lot of budgets, and a projected General Fund reserve of more than $33 million heading into economic uncertainty is exactly the cushion a well-run city should carry.
→ 🎯 My commitment: None of the services above happen without careful stewardship of your tax dollars first. You deserve clear numbers and honest tradeoffs, and I will keep working to make both easy to find and easy to understand.
🔹 New City Hall Hours Start Today: As of this morning, City Hall runs on a four-day schedule: open 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, with Friday closures. For anyone whose own workday never lined up with a standard 8-to-5 counter window, this change is for you: an earlier open and a later close, four days a week.
→ 💡 A quick planning note: Permits, passports, water bill questions, and any other counter business now belong on a Monday through Thursday to-do list. Online services and the Downey Connect App keep working seven days a week, so a Friday pothole report still gets through just fine.
👉 Read the City Hall schedule FAQ
💼 Economic Development
🔹 The Columbia Memorial Space Center Expansion Campaign Is Officially Underway: In late June, I attended the fundraising campaign kickoff for the Columbia Memorial Space Center expansion, and the room was filled with community leaders, philanthropists, and supporters of space education. The new building will give the full-size Space Shuttle Inspiration a permanent home and greatly expand what the Center can offer in exhibits, classes, and community programming.
→ 🎯 Where I stand: An expansion of Downey's own Columbia Memorial Space Center will honor and carry on the legacy of our city's aerospace history, and it will cement the CMSC as the regional hub for science, STEM, and engineering education for our youth for generations to come. I fully support the CMSC. This project builds on where Downey has been and points straight at where we are going.
🔹 Fighting for Better Corridors, Regionally: At the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, I proudly serve as Co-Chair of the SR-91/I-605/I-405 Corridor Cities Committee while representing Downey. Our late-June meeting covered discussion and potential actions on major corridor improvements and projects that affect how tens of thousands of our residents commute, ship, and travel every single day.
→ ⚡ Why a regional seat pays off locally: Freeway corridors do not stop at city limits, and neither should Downey's voice. When our city helps lead these conversations, our priorities are in the room when funding and project decisions get made well above the local level.
🏟️ Youth & Community
🔹 Concerts in the Park Is Back at Furman Park: The summer 2026 season kicked off in late June with the 50's band Those Guys, and I can report firsthand that they rocked the house. The series continues on Wednesday evenings at Furman Park, 10419 Rives Avenue. Bring your lawn chairs, bring the family, and bring a neighbor who has not been yet.
→ 💡 The simplest civic habit there is: A free concert in a city park is small-town Downey at its best. Check the Parks and Recreation events page for each week's performer and details.
👉 View upcoming Parks and Recreation events
🔹 Northwest Downey Diamondbacks Finish a Historic Undefeated Season: Congratulations to the Northwest Downey Diamondbacks on completing a perfect season. After more than 15 years coaching and serving on the board of West Downey Little League, I know exactly how many early Saturdays, patient coaches, and team parents it takes to get a group of kids through an undefeated run. Well done, Diamondbacks. Downey is proud of you.
📅 Coming Up
🔹 🎣 Veterans Fishing Day at Wilderness Park: Saturday, July 11, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Veterans are invited to a day of fishing at Wilderness Park, with a tackle box, a hot lunch, and a t-shirt for every participating veteran. Rods, reels, and bait are all provided. Our veterans have earned every bit of this and more.
🔹 🏛️ Next Regular City Council Meeting: Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 PM, Council Chambers, Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Avenue. Agendas post in advance, and public comment remains the most direct way to put something on the Council's radar.
👉 View agendas and city documents
🔹 🎒 Gangs Out of Downey Backpack Giveaway: Saturday, August 8, 12:00 to 2:00 PM at Golden Park. Free backpacks for kids heading back to school, plus games, prizes, and resource booths, all courtesy of an organization Darrell Jackson helped make what it is today.
📱 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.
Two hundred and fifty years of this country, fourteen straight balanced budgets in this city, and one man who spent decades making sure Downey's kids had someone in their corner. Milestones come in every size. The best way I know to honor all of them, and Darrell most of all, is the way he lived: give your time, lift up the next generation, and pay it forward to the city that has given us so much. Rest well, my friend. The rest of us will take it from here.
Questions, concerns, or ideas? Hit reply. I read every message.
