For the past eight years, I have had the honor of serving the residents of Downey on the Downey City Council. I have met countless residents who share the same love and passion for Downey and the desire to make it even better.

As my time on the city council comes to an end, I wanted to share my experiences with you and to hopefully motivate you to get involved in our community. There are many ways to contribute, which collectively, makes our city the special place it is.

As residents, we have a lot to be proud of. We live in a city where our local government is fiscally responsible and a community that greatly values our DUSD schools, Downey Police and Fire department. In my capacity as Council member and as Mayor, I spent many hours advocating for our city, both at the local, state and federal level to continue the momentum started by previous council members.

When first elected, one of the most common complaints by residents was the lack of options of restaurants in Downey. Many indicated that they would have to leave the city to enjoy a meal. This was disappointing to hear. With that in mind, we made an aggressive effort to attract a variety of restaurants. I am proud of the progress we have made and the variety and number of new eateries that have invested in our city and provide alternatives to our residents and businesses.

Our city has continued to articulate and promote local economic priorities which led the City of Downey to be recognized as the 2017 Most Business Friendly City in LA County by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Businesses such as Downey Nissan, Kaiser Permanente, Fiat and Champion Dodge just to name a few, have continued to expand and thrive in our city. Construction of a new hotel on Firestone Blvd. is well underway as well. These are things the entire community should be proud of and celebrate.

When the space industry left many years ago, thousands of jobs were lost. Out of this void, the city has worked hard over the years to facilitate the creation of new jobs. Since we are fortunate to have three major hospitals in Downey (PIH Downey, Kaiser and Rancho), Downey has been a destination city for many. Therefore, when first elected, I felt it was important to capture this opportunity and capitalize on the medical field.

In 2016, when I was Mayor, we created a BioMedical Overlay Zone to continue to be a part of the emerging bioscience hub and to encourage the growth of the biomedical industry in our city. This has resulted in great success and growth.

In addition, a comprehensive audit was conducted of the Community Development Department to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the departments’ operations and use of resources. This led to the implementation of cost and time-saving technology alternatives that were put in place and have improved the departments’ productivity.

Also, the DowneyLINK buses were replaced with seven Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, which are better for the environment and lower the city’s fuel costs, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Transit Center has also optimized transit operations to better serve our residents.

One of the promises I made when elected was to expand the arts in Downey. Public art adds enormous value to the cultural, aesthetic, and economic vitality of a community. We have added six beautiful art sculptures in Downtown Downey, as well the famous Downey Doodle-icious mural (by local artist Don Lamkin) which continues to draw people. The Downey Theatre has undergone a major overhaul, with a new elevator, community art plaza, sound system, and art garden. Rio Hondo Event Center also received a much-needed facelift including new flooring, sound system, furniture, and restrooms.

I proudly served on the City Council budget subcommittee for almost eight years. During this time, I am proud of our record of having a balanced budget and an almost $30 million reserve. The residents of Downey should be proud to have a city with strong fiscal sustainability and long-term financial planning.

Furthermore, just this year, I requested that we look closer at our pension obligations and were able to responsibly refinance our CalPERS Liability (UAL) from 7% to 4%, resulting in a huge savings of over $55 million.

The residents of Downey voted overwhelmingly in 2014 against Measure B, unequivocally stating that we want to maintain our own Downey Police and Fire Department. When first elected, our police department consisted of 111 sworn officers. Thanks to Measure S project funds, we were able to add 10 additional sworn officer positions, bringing our total to 121.

What makes our city unique is our independence; having our own Downey Police and Fire Departments, and our great Downey Unified School District is what sets us apart from neighboring communities. We must always preserve this.

Thanks to Measure S funds, the city has worked diligently to plan and design improvements for all city parks, the Downey Civic Theatre, and the Downey City Library. This is the largest infrastructure improvement in the city’s history. $50 million dollars’ worth of upgrades has almost been completed, all on time and on budget.

The renovation of Apollo Park, Independence Park, Dennis the Menace Park, Discovery Sports Complex, Golden Park, and Furman Park have all received major improvements including new playgrounds, new picnic shelters, ADA upgrades, additional lighting, and much more. Wilderness Park will be completed in the next few weeks with a new pond, bridges and play area.

New much needed fire stations and upgrades to our police station have been done. The Downey City Library has undergone a complete renovation transforming it into a true 21st Century public learning space, furthering its mission "to ignite a community of creative and critical thinkers."

The City of Downey budgets approximately $3 million annually to rehabilitate streets in residential neighborhoods. This is a substantial improvement from the $1.2 million we previously budgeted when I was first elected. Miles of residential streets and the city’s thoroughfare have already been repaved, resurfaced, and beautified. This not only extends the life of our streets and cars, but also increases the city’s overall aesthetics.

We have also removed all the older style street signs and replaced them with the new modern one with our city logo. This is part of the City Branding program to further promote Downey.

One of the things I was most proud of when I was Mayor was the dedication of the Orange Estates area of Downey in 2016. In doing so, we recognized and showcase the historical significance of this neighborhood. It was important for the city to preserve this area as a means for future generations to have a sense of history, to promote civic engagement, and to provide a sense of place. This dedication has helped maintain property values and residents have continued to have a greater sense of pride and enjoy being a part of Downey history.

In 2015, the City was honored to host Ireland for the Special Olympics World Games. Our City came together in an incredible way to welcome our friends from across the pond. To keep the momentum of serving Downey’s special needs residents, in 2016, our city began offering various Special Olympics sport programs to Downey residents. This is something I am most proud of.

As a community, we must continue to come together, especially during these trying times. So many of you have provided suggestions and ideas which turned into valuable projects for our City. I have always said, the best ideas do not come from us on the Council, but from you the residents. I hope reading this will motivate you to get involved because no act is too small, and each of you really can make a difference.

I would like to thank my City Council colleagues, past and present for supporting me during my two terms and for dedicating their time to our city. Also to my commissioners for serving our city. A special thank you to our City Manager Gilbert Livas who has diligently and ethically led our city for the past 10 years through unprecedented growth. We have an amazing city staff at City Hall who serve our community diligently. Our city has prospered as a result of their hard work.

There are so many more people I would like to thank, but most importantly, I would like to thank my wife Giggy, children Dominic, Gianna, and Alexander, and my mother Elsa for their unwavering support.

It has been an honor to serve Downey. I hope you see you around town soon.

Thank you,

Alex Saab
Council Member
District 5

Alex Saab thanks the community for 8 years of progress