Duarte mourns death of Mayor Bryan Urias; found unresponsive at home

Funeral services were pending Monday for Duarte Mayor Bryan Urias, who was found unresponsive at his home and pronounced dead at the scene.

“On behalf of the city council and city staff, our condolences and thoughts are with Bryan’s family,” Duarte Mayor Pro Tem Margaret Finlay said in a statement. “Bryan has a long history of public service in the San Gabriel Valley, and he brought a regional perspective and strong relationships to his role as a community leader. His experience and role in our community will be sadly missed.

“As a well-known member of our community, it is natural for the public to have questions and concerns, but I ask that we respect the Urias family by giving them privacy and space to grieve.”

The Duarte Chamber of Commerce said Urias was “a pillar” of the community.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, firefighters went to the mayor’s home in the 2000 block of Buena Vista Street around 1 p.m. Sunday in response to a report of a medical emergency. Urias, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene.

There was no immediate information on a cause of death.

According to the city, Urias was a lifelong resident of the San Gabriel Valley, the son of immigrant parents and the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Cal State Los Angeles. He spent time working for Reps. Hilda Solis and Judy Chu, and spent time as a board member for the Upper San Gabriel Municipal Water District.

He was elected to the District 6 seat on the Duarte City Council in November 2018 and began serving as the city’s mayor in December 2020.

Chu, D-Pasadena, said she was “beyond sad to hear about the passing” of Urias, who was her deputy district director and worked in her congressional office for five years.

“Bryan knew how to serve the public — and especially the San Gabriel Valley that he loved so much — having represented me in so many cities and at so (many) events for so many years, and before that, as a staff person to then-Congressmember Hilda Solis,” Chu said in a statement.

“From helping our veterans to the environment to labor, I always counted on Bryan for so much, in large part because of his deep compassion and care when working with constituents, many of whom were desperate for help for everything from their social security to their immigration cases.”

Chu added: “Bryan then went on to become an elected official himself. As a member of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Water board, he was dedicated to ensuring a sustainable water supply, taking the lead in finding ways to recycle water. As the chair of the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority, he helped clean up the plumes of contamination in our water basin. As a Duarte City Councilmember and mayor, he was dedicated to the local needs of the residents.”

The Urias family has started a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs.

“He was a great member of the community, highly respected and loved, but first he was a son, brother, godfather and a great uncle,” wrote Ada Castaneda, Urias’ eldest sister. “He was kind, loving and caring he would take the shirt off his back and give it to someone in need. He had a great heart.”

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