"[6] He has acknowledged the ethical dilemmas of the practice, describing the art as, "illegal, but romantic," and at one point saying, "If I go and paint something on a building without permission, I must take responsibility for my actions.
"[7] In the 2010s, he encouraged a group of youth from the Pointe-Saint-Charles YMCA to protect a mural in their area from vandalism; in relation to this matter, he has said, "If you want to change the direction of something, you need to use positive actions, not negative ones.
[11] In 2014, Downey argued that graffiti artists should receive credit for the use of their images in copyrighted media such as movies and video games.
[16] Downey brought forward a motion in January 2016 to require that "heat stop" buildings, wherein homeless people can gather for warmth, be opened whenever Montreal's temperature falls to -15 degrees Celsius.
[17] Shortly thereafter, Downey called for the city to approve an anti-bullying policy with greater protection in public spaces, including parks and transit.
[18] Also in 2016, Downey was one of only two city councillors to vote against changing the name of Montreal's Vimy Park to honour former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau.
He said he was "saddened" that no one involved in the process considered that removing the former name, which honoured fallen Canadian soldiers from the Battle of Vimy Ridge, "might actually insult somebody.