Feb 05, 2004

Mayor’s State of the City Address focuses on past strengths and future visions

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Although unable to finish his sixth State of the City Address Jan. 28 at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, Mayor Ron Gonzales spent approximately 20 minutes honoring community members and celebrating the city’s accomplishments before suffering a “mild” stroke midway through his presentation.

The annual event drew an estimated 2,000 attendees, including residents and military personnel who were honored for their civic achievements.

During the address, Gonzales highlighted the ongoing strength of the San Jose community in spite
of economic woes that continue to cloud the horizon. “While record deficits pile up in Washington and Sacramento, and while we face very tough decisions here at home, there is no city better prepared to come out of this recession than San Jose,” he said.

The Economy
Gonzales spoke of the accomplishments made in a short period of time that have affected the economy, including $1.6 billion in venture capital investments that promise to bring more innovation and jobs to the Silicon Valley and nearly a billion dollars in private investments to Santana Row, as well as Oakridge, Valley Fair and Eastridge Malls.
The drop in unemployment rates from nearly 10 percent to 6.4 percent saw an optimistic Gonzales stating that companies are once again beginning to hire and people are returning to work. “These are all signs of steady improvements for an economy that is gaining momentum,” he said.

Contributing to the ongoing surge in the economy are local companies who either moved to or chose to stay in San Jose, such as eBay, BEA Systems, iS3 and Adobe Systems, companies that are “optimistic about their future and confident about the future of San Jose.”

Airport Expansion
Citing the Mineta San Jose International Airport as a vital asset to the local economy, Gonzales spoke of expansions and upgrades that will make the airport safer and more efficient, as well as the Interstate 880 interchange at Coleman that promises to improve traffic flow during construction. “A larger airport will help our businesses and economy grow by billions and create over 1,700 construction jobs,” he said. “And when we’re finished, people will walk off the plane and know they’re in the Capital of Silicon Valley.”

Downtown growth
One of Gonzales’ proudest endeavors has been the ongoing revitalization of downtown San Jose, a goal that has eluded the city for over 20 years. Since 1999, over 10,000 new residents have moved downtown and over 4,700 new homes have been built in an effort to draw more retail stores, theaters, galleries and restaurants to the area, including PF Changs China Bistro, McCormick & Schmicks, Flames, the Black Sea Gallery, The Marriott Hotel, The Montgomery Hotel, The Improv and Camera Theaters. Additionally, the new Martin Luther King, Jr. library opened over the summer and has seen over one million visitors pass through its doors to date.

Strong Neighborhoods and affordable housing
Gonzales credited the passing of the park and library bonds before hard times hit with the significant investments in creating stronger neighborhoods, including over $600 million in public works projects, library expansions, park improvements, anti-litter campaigns and reduced graffiti. “This is clear evidence of neighborhood pride and the people who are proud to make San Jose their home,” he said.

Affordable housing remains among the top priorities and Gonzales proudly announced that San Jose will surpass their five-year goal of building 6,000 new affordable homes this spring. Over the next five years, his goal is to build another 3,000 homes that will house 6,700 residents in an effort to reach the critical mass of residents, employees, and visitors needed to make downtown San Jose thrive.

The safest big city in America
As the safest big city in America, Gonzales touted a decreased crime rate in spite of the longest and deepest recession in the city’s history as a key factor in its fortitude. “I am unaware of any other urban city in our nation that has gone through a recession and saw its crime rate go down,” he exclaimed. Additionally, public safety bonds approved by voters in 2002 have been put to work on half of the 36 projects that will upgrade police and fire facilities in an effort to improve response times.

Transportation
Gonzales stressed that a great amount of time during his tenure as Mayor that has been spent on attempting to improve public transportation, including highway expansions, buses, light rail and BART. The biggest challenge he claimed lay in retaining the funding.

Unfinished business
Although unable to finish his speech before taking ill, one of the more exciting announcements Gonzales planned to speak on focused on expanding the Convention Center to enable San Jose to compete for an estimated $200 million in annual corporate event revenues by way of a temporary 150,000 square foot structure added to the center—without going back to the ballot or increasing hotel taxes.

Additionally, in an effort to help the San Jose Museum of Art expand its exhibit space, plans are underway to relocate it to the former main library next to the convention center and turn the existing space into a new downtown retail center. The new museum would provide a much-needed facelift to the old library location.

Improvements in education remains a primary goal for Gonzales—a goal that has included the implementation of 13 Smart Start Centers and 1,300 new childcare spaces to date, as well as teacher homebuyer programs geared toward keeping teachers near their schools. Future plans also include working to trim high school drop out rates.

Looking ahead
Part of the Mayor’s vision for the future includes a bioscience incubator that promises to keep the Silicon Valley on the cutting edge of technology by providing creative environments for research and development of practical bioscience applications. His two-year plan includes creating 14 new bioscience companies in an effort to develop “break-through successes that will save and improve lives.”