La Plante selected for City Council vacancy

Donald La Plante is interviewed at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY - Retired Downey Unified School District board of education member Donald La Plante was selected Wednesday as the interim council member for the vacant District 2 seat.

La Plante was chosen over four other candidates - Planning Commission chair Patrick Owens, former mayor Mario Guerra, retired police officer Victoria Valdez and Southern California Edison advisor Jeremy Shedd – who were all interviewed by the City Council during a special meeting Wednesday.

“I look forward to trying to help the city of Downey for the next seven months,” La Plante said after being selected.

La Plante stated during the interview process that he does not intend to run for the seat in November, barring lack of candidates or some other extreme.

“I hope I can bring some stability and bring us all forward for the next seven months,” La Plante said. “Unless we have either nobody run or a communist and a Nazi, I’m not running.”

Each candidate was given three minutes Wednesday to provide an opening statement before answering two questions from each council member. Questions included their intentions, why they desired to serve, their qualifications, their stance on housing, their ability to compromise, if they intended to run for the seat in November, what they believed to be the top issues facing Downey, and why they were the best candidate. They then were given two minutes for a closing statement.

Three separate motions for Owens (made by Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Alvarez), La Plante (made by Mayor Blanca Pacheco), and Guerra (made by Councilwoman Claudia M. Frometa) all failed to gain the three votes needed.

It was Frometa who pivoted, making a second nomination for La Plante which was successful on a 3-1 vote with Alvarez opposed.

La Plante will be sworn in May 3.

La Plante brings more than 40 years of experience serving on the Downey school board, having first been elected in 1979 and recently retiring in 2020. During his time with DUSD, he was elected eight times and served as president seven times.