State of the City

From the Office of the Mayor, Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson

Last month, I delivered my fourth State of the City Address, “Turning Opportunity Into Results.”The full speech can be found on my website, MayorRothschild.com. Here are some excerpts:
Introduction

This is my fourth State of the City Address. I’ve talked about making Tucson work – and we are: ending the Rio Nuevo dispute, creating the city’s Economic Initiatives Office, and streamlining processes at Planning & Development Services.
I’ve talked about doing more together than alone – and we are: partnering with business, government, and nonprofits to open swimming pools, increase our water security, and end veteran homelessness.
I’ve talked about Tucson in transition – and we are: moving from the Five C’s to the Five T’s of technology, trade, transportation, tourism, and teaching, and coming together as a community to lay the groundwork for growth in each of these areas.
Today, I want to talk about opportunity. Economic, social, and civic opportunity. Turning opportunity into results.
Economic opportunity
Trade
More than 300 business and government leaders, from both sides of the border, attended our first Borderlands Trade Conference last May. With generous support from a number of sponsors, and experts volunteering their time, we put practical knowledge in the hands of people looking to grow their businesses and help their business constituents.
Programs like this, and the city’s commitment to promoting international trade, earned Tucson a listing as one of the 10 best cities for export assistance in the United States by Global Trade Magazine.
So, how are we doing with exports?
The U.S. Department of Commerce has released data for 2014. Let’s look at some of the states we’re often compared to.
Texas exports were up 3.4 percent from 2013.
California was a little better: up 3.6 percent.
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Arizona’s 2014 exports: up 8.8 percent from 2013.
That’s overall. Exports to Mexico, our top trading partner, were up 22.2 percent, to more than 8.6 billion dollars. Tucson is no small part of that, contributing, on average over the last two years, 15 percent of the state’s total exports. International trade yields results.

Transportation
Thanks to falling gas prices and smart management by the city’s Department of Transportation, in the first year of our five-year streets bond, the city resurfaced 241 lane miles at a cost 11.7 million dollars less than projected. Every dollar from the streets bond goes to pavement, so by the time we’re done, we anticipate paving an additional 650 to 700 lane miles, for a total of roughly 1700 newly-resurfaced lane miles. That’s turning opportunity into results.

Tourism
Not too many years ago, few saw opportunity in our downtown. How times have changed. Even Scarlett Johansson loves downtown Tucson.
Johnny Gibson Downtown Market is under construction, with opening planned for the spring. After years of trying, we have not one, but two, downtown hotels in the works – a seven-story AC Hotel Marriott, to be located on Fifth Avenue between Broadway and Congress, and a 140-room hotel on the northeast corner of Euclid and 4th, with retail space and underground parking. A third hotel, a Residence Inn Marriott, is planned for Tyndall and 2nd.
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We know it can be cheaper to develop vacant land. But we don’t want sprawl. Sprawl hurts everyone. So we incentivize infill, and with the incentives the City of Tucson offers, everybody wins. Just last year, our Primary Jobs Incentives helped create 456 new jobs – jobs that pay, on average, more than 67,000 dollars.

Social opportunity
Teaching
With Tucson Unified School District, we held two Steps to Success Walks, knocking on doors of dropped-out high school students with teams of community volunteers and district staff. Chief Villaseñor, Chief Critchley, University of Arizona athletes, and business and community leaders participated in these walks. These kids need to hear from adults in the community that we want them to succeed, that they have what it takes to achieve. You’d be surprised, but the mayor or the school superintendent knocking on your door – sometimes waking you up – and asking you to get back in school, has an effect. Of the students targeted, 269 re-enrolled. That’s giving back opportunity.
Veteran homelessness
Last year, we continued our push to end veteran homelessness in Tucson. We have a deadline: December 31, 2015.
To date, our 14 partner agencies, including the city’s housing department, have housed 920 formerly homeless veterans – more than halfway to our goal.
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We end homelessness with housing – permanent housing – and supportive services. We end homelessness by sharing information and procedures, so no matter which agency a person goes to, the right services are accessed. We end homelessness with hard work, not headlines.

Civic opportunity
Last year, we entered into an agreement with the City of Phoenix, where Phoenix banks some of its CAP water in Tucson’s well field at our SAVSARP facility. If a shortage was declared, we would use some of their banked CAP water and they would use some of our CAP allocation.
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Everybody wins. Both cities have greater water security. Both cities have lower costs. Regional cooperation yields results.
Tucson Water also finished construction of an Advanced Oxidation Process Water Treatment Facility last year – part of our commitment to provide safe, reliable drinking water throughout our service area.

Conclusion
Last year, Tucson was in the running for a project that surprised a lot of folks. While we did not ultimately add Tesla as a 6th T of our economy, with good cooperation between the city, county, TREO, Tucson Electric Power, and others, we put together a strong proposal – and we gained visibility with site selectors nationally for Tucson’s very real strengths in technology, transportation, and trade. You don’t always win when you pursue opportunity, but, almost always, you accomplish something worthwhile.
It’s a competitive world. We can swing for the fences – a Tesla – or we can hit singles. Lots of them. But however we get there, nobody should be on the bench. Everybody should be in the game – business, government, nonprofits – each and every Tucsonan. That’s making the most of opportunity. That’s how we turn opportunity into results.
People tend to find whatever it is they’re looking for. Look for problems, shortcomings, someone to blame – and you’ll find them. Look for opportunities, solutions, someone to help – and you’ll find those, too. Ask yourself: Which would you rather find?
Connect yourself with opportunity. Connect others with opportunity.
Thank you for all you do for Tucson. And, thank you for allowing me the great privilege of serving as your mayor.