Layla Hernandez
Engineer and community organizer Joaquín Beltrán is running to represent District 5, which includes the entire city, on the Downey City Council.
Nov. 5 is the last day to vote, with early voting available. To check registration status, request a vote-by-mail ballot, or find a local voting center, visit lavote.gov.
When discussing his visions for the city, Beltrán offers aspirational plans.
Beltrán envisions a city where people can “achieve their American Dream” and start small businesses easily, while also taking a swipe at the current city establishment “who are there only for themselves and their friends.”
Beltrán supports a cap on rent increases beyond the state limit, emphasizing the need to retain Downey’s youth and future leaders. He argues, “People who are growing up in Downey are being forced to move because they can’t afford to live here.”
Beltrán is critical of the city’s current allocation for policing, stating, “38% is a very large percentage of our city budget to go to the police yet crime keeps going up.” He calls for a shift in focus to crime prevention rather than reaction.
Beltrán has lived in Downey for 30 years.
All candidates were asked the same questions via a written survey. Responses have been light edited for clarity and are listed in alphabetical order. Candidates self-reported their occupations and residences.
Why are you running?
I am running because it’s not about me but about our city having people in our city council that actually represents our neighbors. My parents came from Mexico, met in the United States, and moved to Downey because Downey was their American Dream. Downey is unrecognizable from what it used to be 20-30 years ago: crime has gone up, the council is made up of people who are just there for their own benefit and their friends, homes are unaffordable, and people have lost the sense of pride that came from being proud of raising their family here. We need to return to a city that is forward thinking and that is focused on making sure the voices of our neighbors are actually heard, that we create an environment were small businesses and jobs are growing, and where our children can safely grow up here but also buy a home here and be future leaders of our city instead of moving away where another city will benefit instead of Downey. I am running because it’s up to us to save our city and our future.
What is your vision for the future of the city?
Downey was my mom’s American Dream. When she moved us to Downey 30 years ago from East LA, it was an aspirational place where someone could raise their family, a place that was safe, a place where one could start a small business. We need to get back to Downey being a place where people can feel proud about their city, where they can achieve their American Dream for their family and their children. We should be a city that is focused on keeping our youth here by having homes they can afford instead of having them move to another city. We should be a city that creates opportunities for people to start their small businesses easily so that more jobs can be available to our residents. We should be a city where our city council is actually representing the interests of our neighbors instead of city council members who are there only for themselves and their friends. My vision for Downey is a place where people are proud to live in a city that is safe, caring, and is helping them achieve their American dream.
The average monthly rent for an apartment in Downey is $2,241, up 11% from January 2022, according to the apartment search website rentcafe.com. Multiple cities in Southeast Los Angeles County have placed caps on annual rent increases beyond the hard cap of 10%–5% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower–passed by the state in 2019. Bell Gardens set a cap of 50% of inflation or 4%, whichever is less; Maywood’s maximum rent increase is 4%; Cudahy’s cap is the change in inflation or 3%, whichever is less. Do you support a cap on annual rent increases in Downey beyond the state cap?
Yes. People who are growing up in Downey are being forced to move because they can’t afford to live here. This is a loss of our investment in our youth and instead other cities are benefitting. We need to create an environment where the people who grew up in Downey can be our future neighbors and leaders of our city.
What are other solutions to prevent renters from being priced out of the city due to rising rents?
I’ve been approached by residents who are trying to build multi-family housing on their properties who have been stuck in this process for over 5 years with the city, this causes there to be less housing and thus higher costs of housing and needs to be resolved immediately. Moreover, we need to examine the best places in the city to build additional housing as well in order to increase availability which will help improve affordability. With additional housing, there is a need for additional parking, therefore I think there are places in the city where we need to invest in creating underground parking structures to make sure that land remains available for housing and to help with both parking and traffic.
The police department makes up 38% of the city budget. Do you think this is the right amount of spending? What public safety strategies do you think the city could implement that don’t rely on traditional policing?
38% is a very large percentage of our city budget to go to the police yet crime keeps going up. I will examine this budget so that we are directing funds towards preventing crime in the first place rather than just reacting to it once the damage is already done. I think first and foremost, it starts with the leadership at the city council, we need to make sure that these individuals are following the law and make sure they are held accountable if they are not because that sets the expectation of whether Downey is a safe city. Secondly, we need to invest in community-based organizations that are helping to provide services for workforce development and social services to help improve the opportunity for social support and upward mobility across our city. Thirdly, we need to work with the County to address regional safety issues that are affecting crime that is being committed in Downey.
Should the police budget:
Stay the same. As a city council member I will examine the city and police budget and make sure that we are spending money on things that are more preventative of crime rather than just reactionary which occurs after the crimes are already done. It is more valuable and beneficial to our neighbors and small businesses for crime to be prevented in the first place than to just use taxpayer dollars for crimes once the damage is already done.
The 2015 Downey Bicycle Master Plan proposes 33.6 miles of added bike lanes in the city, though the city currently only has just over 5 miles of bike lanes. If elected, what steps would you prioritize to improve non-motorized travel, especially biking infrastructure, and how will you ensure the city remains on track with these goals?
A lot of people who live in Downey also work and go to school in the city and therefore having bicycle lanes will help to improve traffic on the road and provide an additional way to keep our air clean and our bodies healthy. It’s been nearly 10 years since the Bicycle Master Plan was created and we still have 85% more bike lanes left to implement across the city. We need to address the bottlenecks that are preventing this plan from being properly executed and make sure we are working with our neighborhoods to receive the proper feedback to implement the best bike infrastructure to the benefit of the residents of our city. The council has not made it a priority and it’s time to change that so we can move our city into the future.
