San Jose - 2013 Mayor's State of the City Address

When it comes to a Mayor outlining the year's achievements, there is a little more pomp and ceremony in the USA than in Australia.  In fact, do we even do this in Australia??

I was fortunate to be working at San Jose City Hall the week the Mayor, Chuck Reed, gave his annual "City Address".  The city has 1 million residents, 60,000 businesses, is America's 10th largest city and the urban centre of Silicon Valley, so the Mayor's address to the Nation is no small event.

When I first walked in to the Auditorium, it felt more like I was attending a rock concert than a Mayoral Address, the crowds, the air of excitement and the large media podium was impressive.

The Mayor was more upbeat this year than in the last few.  (2013 not on YouTube as yet) Silicon Valley, still dealing with the effects of the dot.com bust, was hit badly by the GFC or Recession as they refer to it.  The fiscal pressures over the last decade have meant the Mayor and City Executives of San Jose have had to make difficult decisions for the city to remain solvent.  In the past 3 years particularly, there have been modifications to pension benefits,  staff levels have reduced to that of 20yrs ago,  the pay of remaining staff  has reduced and of course there has had to be reductions to city services.  They have not been 'doing more with less', but instead had to tackle doing 'less with less' 

Mayor Reed presented a much more optimistic future in his address this year and spoke about the innovative ways the city and community have, and still are, meeting and overcoming the challenges from the Recession.

The Recognition Awards really showcased the dedicated and motivated city staff and community members.