RICHMOND GLOBE
January 23 - 29, 2008

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin Delivers State
of the City Address

By Clifford L. Williams
Globe City Editor

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin addressed the City Council and the public during her second State of the City address on Tuesday night, noting that 2007 was a year of contrasts.

“It was a very good year in many ways, and a very, very difficult year in other ways,” said McLaughlin. “While it is clear that many seeds of change have been planted, it is also clear that we, as a community, have reaped more than our share of tears.”

In her address, the mayor concentrated on what she considered three priority issues for the city of Richmond: violence prevention, the development of Richmond’s green economy, and community empowerment.

Acknowledging that the city has suffered great losses due to violence and has seen an increase in homicides, she said, “We grieve together and extend our deepest sympathies to all those impacted by violence.

“Our first and highest priority remains violence prevention, and we continue to focus on every possible way to reduce violent crimes in our city,” she said.

“Our police department has hired new officers, has expanded to 12-hour shifts and is getting help from the CHP so as to better respond to all crimes.

“The Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) was created in 2007 to coordinate and maximize violence prevention efforts in our city. Our ONS director is currently completing the hiring of outreach workers who will be working within our high-crime neighborhoods to help redirect our young people to the services they need.”

The mayor later focused on Richmond’s new economy and green jobs for youth. “We are at a juncture in history in terms of laying the economic foundation for our future,” said McLaughlin. “We are transitioning into a new green economy. This is both a great necessity and a great opportunity for us, and we are reaching out with both hands to advance this transition. We have made it clear to all that we are journeying away from the era of dirty industrial practices and into the era of good, clean, green industry and green practices.

“The city has approved a green building ordinance, waived solar permitting fees [and] passed a resolution declaring Richmond a green economic development area, bringing attention to our location, transportation modes and available space. We have welcomed many green businesses this past year, and we welcome more.

“On a regional level, we have partnered with the cities of Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville, along with UC Berkeley, to form the East Bay Green Corridor Partnership in order to better position the East Bay for the emerging billion dollar green economy,” she said.

Regarding community empowerment, McLaughlin reiterated that the gauge by which true progress in Richmond must be measured is the extent to which the community is empowered to meet its needs and further its common interests.
“We must reclaim and bring back the commons for Richmond,” she said. “The ‘commons’ simply refers to gathering spaces — indoor or outdoor — where residents, young and old, come together to relax, talk, enjoy each other’s company; where people are inspired by public art displays and performances; and where events are celebrated and issues debated.

“To advance ‘the commons’ in Richmond, we must take further ownership of our parks, our community centers, and elevate, preserve and enjoy our open space and nature-based surroundings. The city can show support for the community by purchasing and holding public land for the much-needed purpose of creating these public gathering spots.”
Concluding her address, McLaughlin said that in 2008 Richmond faces great challenges:

“We are seeing the result of years of neglect, poverty and oppression playing out on our city streets. With an ill-conceived war taking money out of our cities, with our state budget in crisis, with the ongoing problems of global warming, with natural disasters such as last year’s oil spill into the Bay, with all these concerns, worries and immediacies … we look to ourselves.

“As we enter 2008, let us nurture the seeds of change we have planted and continue to till our community’s soil for recovery and growth. And let us plant ourselves firmly in the work ahead, in both healing our pain and strengthening our resolve, to create the peaceful and prosperous Richmond that we know is possible.”