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Hector Sosa Newsletter — October 5, 2026
📬 Councilmember Hector Sosa | District 2, Downey | October 5, 2026
Good morning, Downey,
Late last month, I attended the League of California Cities annual conference and expo alongside some of our great Downey team, and the moment that stayed with me did not come from a policy session. It came from astronaut Jose Hernandez, who shared his testimony and journey: a kid from a farmworker family who was turned away by NASA eleven times before he ever reached space. Sitting in that room, representing the city that built the Apollo capsules, I thought about how much of Downey's story is really the same story, persistence that outlasts every "no." Now October is here. The new month arrived Thursday, Fire Prevention Week began yesterday, and the calendar ahead is full of ways to put that persistence to work. Here is what deserves your attention this week.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 Fire Prevention Week Runs Through Saturday, October 10: Fire Prevention Week began yesterday, Sunday, October 4, and continues through Saturday, October 10. It is the nation's longest-running public safety observance, born out of the Great Chicago Fire more than 150 years ago, and the assignment it gives every household is refreshingly simple: test your smoke alarms, replace any tired batteries, and walk your family through a home escape plan with two ways out of every room.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: A house fire gives you minutes, sometimes less, and the preparation you do this week is what buys your family those minutes. We invest heavily in our Downey Fire Department, and I stand behind every dollar, but the first firefighter in any home is a working smoke alarm. Please take the ten minutes. Then thank a Downey firefighter when you see one this week.
👉 Visit the Downey Fire Department page
🔹 Walk and Roll to School Day Is This Wednesday: National Walk and Roll to School Day is Wednesday, October 7, and I would love to see Downey families take part. After fifteen years of coaching Downey kids through Little League and DJAA, I can tell you there is no better start to a school day than one spent moving, talking, and arriving awake.
→ 🎯 My ask of you: Identifying ways to reduce speeding on our streets is one of the initiatives I ran on, and Wednesday is a test we can all help pass. If you are driving that morning, slow down near every campus, stop fully at crosswalks, and watch for small pedestrians who do not always watch for you. One careful morning should become the habit for every morning.
👉 Learn about Walk and Roll to School Day
💰 Budget & Finance
🔹 The First Quarter of the Fiscal Year Is in the Books: Thursday, October 1 quietly closed the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026-27. That date matters more than it might seem. A budget on paper is a plan; the quarter close is where the plan meets reality, as staff reconcile what the city actually collected and actually spent against what we projected back in June.
→ 💡 What this means: Downey has adopted more than a dozen consecutive balanced budgets, with national recognition for its financial reporting to match. That record is not maintained in June when the budget passes. It is maintained in months like this one, when the numbers get checked against the promises.
→ 🎯 My commitment: I will be going through the first quarter picture carefully and asking questions early, because catching a trend in October is far cheaper than discovering it in April. You can follow the same information I do: every report that comes to the Council arrives through a posted agenda, in English and Spanish, before we ever vote.
👉 View agendas and city documents
💼 Economic Development & Local Business
🔹 Ten More Days of Hispanic Heritage Month, Celebrated the Downey Way: Hispanic Heritage Month continues through Thursday, October 15, and in this city the celebration has a flavor, a sound, and usually a receipt. So much of Downey's commercial life was built by families who opened a restaurant, a shop, or a service business and poured generations of work into it. The most meaningful tribute I know is simple: spend these next ten days choosing those businesses on purpose.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Creating support for small businesses is one of my core initiatives, because dollars spent locally circulate locally, in our jobs, our services, and our neighborhoods. And if you have been carrying the dream of opening your own place, the city has people and resources ready to help you take the first step.
👉 Find business support and resources
🤝 Community
🔹 Carrying Downey's Voice to the Cal Cities Conference: As I mentioned above, I joined some of our great Downey team at the League of California Cities annual conference and expo, a gathering of civic leaders from across the state. The sessions were packed with practical ideas, but the real value is the mission behind the organization: defending the ability of cities like ours to make our own decisions about our own streets, budgets, and neighborhoods.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Plenty of decisions that shape Downey are made in rooms far from Brookshire Avenue. Showing up to collaborate, compare notes, and advocate is how a city of 113,000 keeps its seat at those tables. I came home with ideas worth pursuing and relationships worth keeping, and you will see both show up in the work.
👉 View my conference recap (Instagram)
🔹 Loteria Night at St. Raymond: I had a great time recently calling the cards at St. Raymond School's Loteria Night, and I am grateful to the school community for the invitation. There is something special about a cafeteria full of families laughing over the same game their grandparents played. Nights like that are where a city's sense of belonging actually gets built, one full table at a time.
👉 See the Loteria Night post (Instagram)
📅 Coming Up
🔹 🔥 Fire Prevention Week: Now through Saturday, October 10. Details above in the Public Safety section.
🔹 🚸 Walk and Roll to School Day: Wednesday, October 7. Details above in the Public Safety section.
🔹 🥕 Downey Farmers Market: Saturday, October 10, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at La Reina Avenue and 2nd Street. Fall produce season is settling in, and it shows in the stalls.
🔹 🏛️ Next Regular City Council Meeting: Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 PM, Council Chambers, Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Avenue. The agenda posts ahead of time, in English and Spanish, so give it a look and weigh in on anything that matters to you.
👉 View agendas and city documents
🔹 🎉 Hispanic Heritage Month: Continues through Thursday, October 15. Details above in the Economic Development section.
🔹 🧹 Keep Downey Beautiful Cleanup: Saturday, October 17, 9:00 to 10:00 AM. Arrive by 8:45 AM to check in. No registration is required, students can earn volunteer hours, and volunteers under 16 should bring an adult along.
👉 View Keep Downey Beautiful details
📱 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.
Jose Hernandez needed twelve applications to reach orbit. Most of what matters takes repetition: testing the smoke alarm again, slowing down on the same school street again, showing up to another market Saturday, reading another agenda. None of it is glamorous, and all of it compounds. This week hands you a dozen small chances to invest in Downey, and I hope you take a few. I will be doing the same, and I will report back right here.
Questions, concerns, or ideas? Hit reply. I read every message.
Together, we're building a community that works for everyone. Thank you for staying connected!
Hector Sosa
Councilmember, City of Downey
