March 9, 2010
State of the City
Mayor Phil Gordon
Thanks for that terrific introduction, Todd. Good afternoon to each of you and to my colleagues on the City Council.
I have to say hi to my mom, Judy … and wish her happy birthday. Mom, I know it was 3 weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to stop by, but things have been a little “ hectic” at City Hall. I do have a lovely virtual belated birthday cake to share with you, though.
Sorry, mom. You know we’ve had to make a lot of cuts lately.
It’s hard to believe this is the seventh time I’ve come before you to report on the state of our city. In 2004, my son Jake was a kindergartner into “Sponge Bob.” Now look at him.
Luckily for us, we were able to outrun Sheriff Arpaio that day.
Kids grow up quicker than ever now, don’t they? It’s like that with everything. The velocity of our lives makes you dizzy. All day, I’m attached to my BlackBerry, firing off emails. Every reporter, resident and business person who calls needs an answer right away. Life moves so quickly, it’s almost impossible to focus on what’s truly important.
Your kids. Your family and friends. The co-workers you share your days with. Real people, living real lives.
People who mind every dollar because they have no other option. People who want safe neighborhoods. People who want a decent-paying job … or who, for that matter, would be glad to have any job at all.
It’s tempting to think of “the city” as the sum total of its services, or that shiny building known as City Hall. Really, though, Phoenix is the sum total of its people, all of us, the more than one and a half million residents who call this amazing jewel home.
Because of those people, because of you, the state of our city, though challenged beyond anything we have ever seen before, very much remains STRONG.
I see proof of this strength every day, no matter what the doubters say.
In 2004, weeks after I took office, I stood before you and proposed the first of many bold ideas. Let’s bulldoze Patriot’s Park and replace it with something special.
Well, maybe you’ve forgotten what the corner of Central and Washington once looked like. This will jog your memory.
Those days are long gone. Now when I stand in the shadow of CityScape tower, all I can think is “wow.” It’s amazing what people can do armed with vision and determination. And with great partners like Mike Ebert and RED Development’s one billion dollars in private investment.
As we speak, the first tenant at CityScape, the national law firm Ballard Spahr, is moving into its new home. Four more law firms will follow before the end of April. By springtime, you’ll be able to fill a prescription at CVS or eat at Kyle Shivers’ The Breakfast Club. You’ll bowl and grab a beer at Lucky Strike Lanes. You’ll buy clothes at Urban Outfitters, work out at Gold’s Gym and buy wine, cheese and shop for food at Oakville Grocery. By fall, CityScape will be restaurant heaven, with 11 eateries, including Bob Lynn’s LGO Public House and new ventures from Aaron May and Sam Fox.
The doubters said we’d never get CityScape built in a down economy, or, for that matter, ever. They said we’d never find support for such an ambitious public-private partnership. They said we’d never fill up 800,000 square feet of space.
Well, we have. CityScape is 77 percent leased, with more leases on the way … including yesterday’s announcement of the arrival of Robert Sarver’s Alliance Bank.
Why am I so sure about CityScape? Because I know the people of Phoenix. Maybe in other cities they’re taking cover for fear of the recession. Maybe in Washington, the system is tangled in gridlock. Maybe west on Washington Street, partisan politics and small minds rule the day.
Not us. Not here. That’s not the Phoenix way.
In Phoenix, when I first took office and today, we believe. We move forward. We prepare for the future. And, as six of my colleagues did last Tuesday, we vote today to protect tomorrow. You can feel the desire for change. That’s why Phoenix succeeds.
Just six months ago, Phoenix was named an All-American City for the fifth time in our history. Our 14,000 employees, from city manager David Cavazos down to our job-sharing single parents, deserve many thanks. This year especially, they’ve faced huge challenges and wild uncertainty. Every day, they’ve performed their jobs with professionalism and grace.
I hope we can also give special thanks to the representatives of the city employees here today. Their love of this city shone through in the past few weeks, when they agreed to a 3.2 percent cut in salary and benefits not only to protect their co-workers but our quality of life.
In no other city in America have unions steeped up like this.
Pete Gorraiz from the United Phoenix Firefighters Association; Mark Spencer from the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association; Curt Malaise from Laborers International, Nancy Gray and Darrell Abram from our AFSCME units; Ron Ramirez from ASPTEA; Mark Hafkey from the PPSLA.
Please join me in giving all of them a round of applause.
As difficult a year as 2009 was, departments all across the city met every challenge thrown at them in 2009 … and then some. I don’t even need to brag. The numbers say it all. Last year, the rate and actual number of violent crimes and property crimes in Phoenix dropped by nearly 20 percent.
Think about that. As our population grew, as the economy stumbled, our neighborhoods got safer. That’s great police work.
We should also give special thanks to the firefighters for their work last December, when Durant’s caught on fire. The first engine was on scene at the restaurant within 3 minutes. Three minutes after that, they had everything under control.
There’s a sign outside Durant’s now. It credits Phoenix Fire with saving their business.
Chief Khan, on behalf of every lobbyist and legislator in Arizona, thank you. It would have been really sad to see all those powerful people wandering around in search of a new place to have a two-martini lunch.
Joking aside, while I could speak for an hour about the city’s accomplishments in 2009, I promise I’ll only mention a few highlights.
There’s the opening of light rail, which the naysayers predicted would be a bust. We served more than 11 million riders last year. That’s about 34 percent better than our most optimistic prediction for Year One of operation. On our busiest days, ridership tops 50,000 passengers. We’ve already added advertising to generate revenue and we initiated Friday and Saturday service until 3 am. And just a few weeks ago, we added a new CEO for Metro, Stephen Banta, who comes to us from Portland, Oregon.
Stephen, welcome to Phoenix. Remind me to tell you about my new revenue idea … not an express line. An espresso line. It could be huge.
Kidding aside, we’re not going to sit and wait for the economy to rebound. We’re moving ahead on the planning and permitting process to be shovel ready. We’re extending Metro north along 19th Avenue, south Central and west seven miles along I-10.
Second on my list of highlights … but not second in importance … is our
Biomedical Education Campus.
The next phase of the medical school will break ground by June. This $200 million project means more than 1,800 new jobs and over $7million in sales tax to the state in just the next 18 months. This health science l will graduate 150 new doctors and pharmacists each year. They, in turn, will support ten times as many new jobs.
All across the Valley, people have heard about T-Gen, the College of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and Phoenix Union’s award-winning Bioscience High School.
We worked hard to land those partners, but we didn’t stop there. We’ve kept attracting big names, like a School of Nutrition, a College of Public Health, the Barrow Neurological Institute, the National Institutes of Health and, in the next few months, a world-famous Cancer Institute. We’re proud to have all of them call downtown Phoenix home.
Let me take a second to single out three men who have made all this possible. In no other city in America will you find three education visionaries like Doctor Michael Crow, Doctor Robert Shelton and Doctor Rufus Glasper. They have taken the lead not only in education, but in driving our state’s economic recovery.
Every day, those who doubted us are put to shame. The naysayers, the cynics, said Phoenix would never become a force in the research world. They said we’d never be able to compete for partners, never be able to secure private capital.
The doubters were wrong. Just like they were wrong about the Arizona State University Downtown Campus.
Over 9,000 students, faculty members and staff took classes or worked at ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus last year – a 40 percent jump from 2008. Civic Space Park drew national praise for its public art, unique design and its shaded, green construction. The park’s solar panels produce enough energy to offset the cost of its power.
The great news kept coming in 2009: The second tower of Taylor Place opened. So did a $30 million addition to the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation. And right before New Year’s Day 2010, Channel 8 moved into a digital media center in the Cronkite School. Their studios are the envy of journalism schools and TV stations everywhere.
I wish I could use the word “great” to describe the state of our city. That simply isn’t true. We have work to do … lots of it. We will face more challenges, no matter how often we wish the bad news would stop.
Since I last stood here, because of the economy and decisions by our Legislature, we’ve been forced to fill a 275 million dollar deficit over the next 15 months. That’s 25 percent of our budget. We’ve had to implement an emergency food tax. We’ve had to eliminate nearly 1,600 jobs in the past 12 months. There’s no way to spin that. Or to describe what it feels like when valuable co-workers go away, or when those in need go wanting.
In Phoenix, we have to balance our budget. We can’t and won’t use smoke and mirrors. We can’t and won’t use accounting tricks. We can’t and won’t run in the red and let our grand kids pick up the tab. We can’t and won’t push unfunded mandates to other levels of government.
We have had no choice but to be up to the tasks this economic crisis puts before us. We had no choice but to take action. The budget we crafted … and the process we followed … though controversial to some … was a model of transparency. I’m proud to say that on Monday we learned that the Government Finance Officers Association awarded Phoenix a much coveted honor for budgeting excellence. That award isn’t new to us. This year was our 20th such honor.
Our conservative approach to budgeting stands in stark contrast to the state and federal government. Their budget failures not only jeopardize our finances, they represent two of the most significant challenges before us.
First, Washington. As you know, I’ve spent a lot of time there in the past year. I’ve spoken to White House officials and Cabinet members. I’ve spoken many times to President Obama. He gets it. He understands that America’s recovery won’t happen without solving the issues confronting cities like Phoenix.
And we get it, too. We need a robust jobs program, one that immediately creates long-term, decent-paying jobs here in Phoenix. We need an education rights bill that guarantees funding for our schools, community colleges and universities, so that no child and no adult is ever left behind. We need a comprehensive immigration solution now.
Enacting these reforms will boost our economy, improve our security and guarantee that America’s cities can compete in the global marketplace. Regardless, Congress has failed to act time and again. We in Phoenix pay for those failures every day.
Our other major challenge is a few blocks from here.
Our state government needs to represent the many, not the few.
I also want to thank our elected friends there. Not the partisans. Not the hard-core who make news with one crazy bill after another. I mean the dedicated legislators who have the best interests of Phoenix and the state of Arizona firmly in heart.
Unfortunately, I can count those leaders on a few fingers.
Day by day, our friends in the Legislature struggle against the extremists who have hijacked state government. Our friends continue to be beaten up by a system that forces too many of them to leave public service. These statesmen – and make no mistake, they deserve that title – deserve our heartfelt thanks.
True leadership is a rare commodity. Too often, the right thing to do is whatever will win the next election.
Not in our city. Six of my colleagues took a stand last Tuesday. To ward off layoffs, to keep neighborhoods safe, to keep police officers and firefighters on the streets, to keep open businesses, libraries and senior centers, they joined me in voting yes on our budget.
Please join me in thanking Mike and Mike, Bill, Claude, Thelda and Tom. Their leadership has been more than admirable – it has been essential.
I also want to thank all of you. In the weeks before and after the vote, we’ve heard from thousands of residents. You’ve called and written. You’ve stopped me at Lux and Lola’s. You’ve jammed forums all over the city. You’ve turned back misrepresentations about our budget being forced through too quickly, about City Hall turning a deaf ear, You rejected those who put their own personal gain ahead of the public interest.
That’s greatness. That’s Phoenix.
They say we’re the fifth-largest city in this country. Maybe they ought to stop measuring population and start measuring the size of the city’s heart. Our heart has sustained us through a dozen challenging months. And you … your energy, your spirit … have kept Phoenix moving forward.
Speaking of heart, let’s put aside all the speechmaking for a minute.
I owe each of you my thanks. When I’ve needed inspiration, you’ve shared kind words. When I’ve needed guidance, you’ve offered advice. When I’ve been attacked, you’ve stood by my side. Your support means everything to me.
Let me take a moment to thank my staff, too. They’re small in number nowadays, but mighty all the same. I’ve heard vicious rumors, by the way, that I can be a little hard to work for … but still they put up with me. Thank you … especially to Bill Scheel and Marchelle Franklin, who have been with me since the beginning, leading my staff. Thanks in advance to Debra Stark, my new chief of staff. She started yesterday and I’m proud to say, she’s still with me. After 5 chiefs of staff in 6 years, I feel like that’s an accomplishment.
A few times in the past half-dozen years – and recently – you’ve heard that I’ve considered pursuing other jobs. In the end, I know I made the right decision … the only decision, not just for me but for our city. To stay here in the city I love and continue to serve its residents as Mayor.. To keep protecting our neighborhoods. To keep creating jobs. To keep speaking out against hate and bigotry.
We have so very much left to do, so very much left to accomplish.
As I have said for the past six years, our most important task is to grow our city’s economy. That hasn’t changed. Nor has my mission to secure our city’s share of the resources Washington makes available.
In the past year, we have brought home more than 400 million of our taxpayers’ dollars.
Our list of projects to create jobs is long, and it will grow longer. We’ve won our share of competitive grants because we’ve worked together. And where we haven’t been successful in funding … yet … I will not be deterred.
As all of you are aware, “No” is simply not in my vocabulary … especially not with a project like Sky Train.
Our airport automated train will create 2,500 new jobs in Phoenix, which includes 250 new jobs within the first week of starting construction. We’re ready to go on 24 hours’ notice and we will remain ready, even though Washington dealt us a temporary setback. No matter. This project will get funded. I promise we will turn dirt before I appear before you next year. I will not compromise my commitment to improving the future of Phoenix.
We recently announced Solar Phoenix, a partnership between the city, National Bank of Arizona, APS, the Industrial Development Authority and Solar City. The concept is simple: Without putting down a single dollar, residents in every income group can qualify for rooftop solar systems guaranteed to lower their utility bills.
Just yesterday, Solar City opened a new office in Phoenix. They’re hiring two dozen more installers. That’s 24 more families earning a paycheck. This month, we’ll throw the switch on the first homes to complete the financing and installation process. This project is set to provide solar units for more than 500 homes. Every one of those homeowners will save money, increase the value of their property and help the environment.
I’m sure Craig Robb, the executive vice president at National Bank of Arizona, and Don Brandt, the CEO of APS, won’t mind if I tell you there’s still room to apply. Go ahead … call toll free to 8-8-8. 7-6-5. 2-4-8-9 … seize the opportunity. That’s what we do in Phoenix.
We do not rest here. Our drive has made life better across the city. It’s given us a Green Rail Corridor, a national model for stimulating business development. And it’s brought us great new partners like CardioNet, Alpha Energy, W.L. Gore and APL Americas, who between them have created more than one thousand jobs in the last year.
I’m an optimist. To me, pessimism is a poison. I believe in this city. We will get through these unprecedented times.
The optimist in me believes the worst is behind us, that for Phoenix, the better days we have worked so hard for are on the horizon. And I plan to reach for those better days … today, now. In a world gone global, where borders are merely pixels on a Google map, where capital travels by mouse click, seizing opportunities requires us not to rest or slow down. And it requires us to be endlessly innovative just like one of our city’s newest corporate citizens: Abraxis Bioscience.
In November, Abraxis opened a $70 million research and production facility near 51st Avenue and I-10. There, Abraxis producing life-saving cancer drugs, an effort that has created 200 high-paying nanobiology jobs.
That was great news, but Abraxis has even bigger plans for Phoenix … the sort of plans that will change lives across the world. Together with ASU, U of A and T-Gen, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has formed the Health Transformation Institute.
It’s not a think tank. It’s a “do tank,” an action-oriented partnership designed to integrate 21st century medicine, technology and next-generation economic principles to solve America’s health care crisis right here from Phoenix.
The man at the heart of this venture, Dr. Soon-Shiong, is the perfect for our city: Self-made, focused on the public good, endlessly inventive, determined to succeed where others have failed.
Like Patrick, Phoenix never runs short of vision. Nor will I. We will never stop moving forward, never stop aspiring – even if that means crossing the globe.
The Middle East. Mexico. Canada. That was part of my international itinerary in 2009. In 2010, I will see the all these countries again – plus Hong Kong, China and Singapore.
Phoenix needs to be more than a dot on a map. To succeed today means thinking not just locally, but globally. That’s why tomorrow I leave again to continue to push for direct investment opportunities in our city.
I will continue to connect people with Phoenix, whether they’re 8 blocks away or 8,000 miles. What brings us together secures our happiness, guarantees our freedom, and delivers us prosperity.
My friends, in a year that has been anything but great, I feel fortunate to reassure you that the state of the city remains strong … thanks to every one of you.
God bless you and have a great afternoon.