A public servant for over 30 years, Mario Trujillo, a former school teacher and the Deputy District Attorney for LA. County is seeking a term on the city council, representing district 5. In addition to serving the county, Trujillo is also involved in community service organizations, such as the Kiwanis Club, which is why he believes he is qualified to tackle a few of Downey’s issues.

On the issue of defunding the police, Trujillo believes that while the Downey Police Department provides top-notch service, systemic racism does exist and there should be zero tolerance for police brutality. However, he does not support defunding the police although he is open to re-examining the city’s budget.

“I believe that all city departments should be looked at to see where we can save money or how we can do things more efficiently,” Trujillo stated. “I call it analyzing the budgets of departments to see if we can use taxpayer money more efficiently, so I’m always open to looking at the other budgets of any departments.”

Another issue that Trujillo will combat is the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to encouraging people to follow CDC guidelines, Trujillo also wants to launch an education campaign to inform the public on their safety precautions as well as continue funding the local food banks to feed the families of Downey coping with the loss of jobs due to the virus.

“We should also be saying fortify your bodies, your immune system, take some vitamin C, do a little bit of exercise, do something to prepare your body in case your body comes in contact with the virus,” Trujillo explained. “We need to [also] make sure that with all the lost jobs that we’ve had that our families still have food to eat and shelter.”

Trujillo also intends to address the homelessness problem in Downey by pushing for more affordable housing and establishing wellness centers in the City of Downey to evaluate the needs of the homeless.

“We need to work with developers who agree that we need to allocate a percentage of units that they build for affordable housing that’s income-based,” Trujillo argued. “As for the homeless situation… police officers should have the authority to detain homeless people and take them to wellness centers, so we can basically do an immediate analysis of what are the issues this person is facing.”

The city council elections are on Nov. 3. To get in touch with Trujillo, his email is [email protected].