Downey : Teacher Named to Council After Carter Resigns

Downey Councilman Richard D. Carter, who has moved to Arizona, has resigned, and the City Council on Tuesday appointed Library Advisory Board member Barbara Jean Riley to replace him.

Carter was appointed to the council Sept. 17 after Councilman Roy L. Paul resigned to become a Municipal Court commissioner. Carter, who resigned Monday, is living in Holbrook, Ariz., where he owns a KOA campground.

Riley will hold the seat for five months. The remaining two years of Paul’s four-year term will be filled in the city’s June 2 election. Riley, 60, said she plans to run for the District 2 seat, which represents the southwest portion of Downey.

City voters also will fill three other council seats in the June election. The four-year terms of Mayor Barbara J. Hayden and council members Diane P. Boggs and Robert G. Cormack end in July. Hayden and Boggs said they plan to run for reelection. Cormack plans to retire.

Riley, an elementary school teacher, said she will work to solve some of the city’s traffic problems, including congestion caused by train routes through the city.

In other action Tuesday, the City Council raised Downey’s tax on hotel and motel rooms from 8% to 9% to raise an additional $72,000 a year, said Finance Director Lowell Williams. State and federal employees visiting the city on official business are exempt from paying the tax.