Thank you, Council President LaCava and Members of the City Council;

City Attorney Ferbert;

Honorable regional, state, and federal elected officials;

Friends from Mexico and the consular corps from around the world;

And, most of all -

My fellow San Diegans:

Five years ago, when I took the oath to become your Mayor, I did so with open eyes.

I knew our city faced tough problems. I knew we had long-deferred responsibilities.

I knew there would be days - like many we've experienced together this past year - when the decisions we had to make would be hard and the headlines would be harsh.

But I also knew this:

San Diego was ready to stop running from its problems.

I believed our city was ready for a new era — an era defined by honesty, urgency, and action.

Not just big ideas, but real results in every neighborhood across San Diego.

And I also believed something else:

That San Diego was ready to stop leaning on yesterday's habits — and start doing the work of building a city that functions for the people who live here.

Because the choice in front of any great city is whether to stay comfortable with what is — or do the hard work to build what can be.

Today, I speak to you in that same spirit: with clarity about the work, confidence in our direction, and a deep belief in what this city can be.

Because the City of San Diego is a major American city — the eighth largest in the United States, and the second largest in California.

We are a vibrant, diverse, and dynamic place that people from around the world are choosing to visit, to invest in, and to call home.

That demands we don't shrink from our challenges — but rise up to meet them. Rise up to match the scale, the responsibility, and the promise of who we are.

That's what we've done over these last five years.

And as a result, the City of San Diego is moving — with intention.

We are building — with purpose.

And we are governing — with responsibility.

We are a city in transformation - and you can see it.

Today, I'm going to walk through what the transformation of our city looks like — in our finances, in housing, homelessness, public safety, infrastructure, and in the global standing of the city we are becoming.

I will be honest about the challenges we still face — and I will prove our progress with results you don't have to imagine. They're results you can see.

To understand why those results matter, it's important to understand what we were up against — and how this city has operated for far too long.

Budget

You see, historically, San Diego has not acted like the big city it is — avoiding hard conversations, dodging necessary choices, and pushing problems down the road for “somebody, someday” to solve.

Meanwhile, the warning signs were everywhere — in plain sight: costs rising. Demand for services growing. Infrastructure aging. And a city budget that simply didn't keep up.

That brought us to one of the most significant fiscal challenges in our city's modern history: a $318 million structural budget deficit.

A deficit that didn't appear overnight — but accumulated over decades of underfunding, undercharging, and undermining the city services you rely on.

So, my administration did what we've always done - and, what I believe leadership requires: we faced it directly.

I set the bold goal of trying to close the structural deficit in one year.

We reduced spending, restructured leadership, eliminated six departments, and cut $35 million in contracts and management positions.

We moved city employees out of rented office space and into city-owned spaces -- saving $13 million.

We made tough calls to bring our finances closer to long-term stability.

Because if we're going to deliver on the basics you expect, we have to fund the city we are today, not the city we were thirty years ago.

And, as a result, this year alone, we solved for two hundred and seventy million dollars of that deficit -- a major step toward restoring long-term financial stability and closer to true structural balance.

That does mean we will have more tough decisions and cuts this year to solve for the remainder of the deficit, as well as the economic challenges posed by the Trump Administration's tariffs and budget cuts that are beyond our control.

I know that's not easy to hear. And I know none of it has been easy to live through. I hear the frustrations. And I share them.

But the truth is that we cannot build a stronger San Diego on a fragile foundation.

First, you stabilize the ground beneath your feet. Then you build something better — and higher.

Housing

And if you want to understand the future we are building in San Diego, look at housing.

It's the thread that runs through everything: the economy and jobs, the cost of living, traffic, homelessness, climate action -- and most of all, the ability of families to put down roots.

I've always said: A great city can't be a place just for the very wealthy who can afford to live here while the rest of us get priced out.

A great city is one where anyone who works hard and plays by the rules can afford to live here;

Where the people who teach our kids, protect our neighborhoods, attend our universities, and power our economy can live and thrive here.

That's why housing remains at the center of my administration's agenda.

Because building housing isn't ideological — it's one of the most basic responsibilities of a city.

And what San Diego is doing right now represents one of the most ambitious housing agendas in California.

A recent UC Berkeley study highlighted how San Diego has become one of our state's leading cities in reforming housing policy to build more homes.

Saying: “San Diego's recent efforts do provide a roadmap for cities … seeking to increase housing production and expedite housing projects.”

We've reformed outdated zoning to make room for new housing where it makes sense.

We've streamlined approvals, reduced bureaucratic delays, and modernized building standards so projects can move faster — while still meeting the safety and design standards San Diegans expect.

We've completed Community Plan Updates in Mira Mesa, Barrio Logan, Clairemont, the College Area, University, and Hillcrest, adding the capacity for 105,000 new homes.

This year, according to preliminary data, the City of San Diego permitted roughly seven thousand five hundred homes.

For context, during the two decades prior, the City permitted on average, four thousand three hundred new homes - we've nearly doubled our historic performance.

Through our “Bridge to Home” program, we've helped fund two thousand six hundred and seventy-six new affordable homes, and in a matter of weeks, we will make funding available for hundreds more.

Through the “Affordable Housing Permit Now” program, we've greenlit four thousand three hundred more, with another two thousand on the way.

You don't need a chart to understand what that means. You can see it.

Cranes in the air, crews at work, foundations being poured, roofs popping up. Homes being built.

From Grantville to San Ysidro, Pacific Beach to City Heights, Rancho Bernardo to Bankers Hill. Downtown to Mission Valley. Point Loma to University Heights.

And as a result, we are starting to see what happens when you build more homes.

For the first time in 25 years, we've started to see a promising trend in rents declining year-over-year.

We're also pairing housing production with protection — strengthening tenant rights, expanding rental assistance, and preventing evictions.

Still, I know that even with this progress, the cost of housing remains too expensive for too many families.

And until more San Diegans can look at their rent or mortgage without cringing, our work is not finished.

The City of San Diego will continue to do its part to build locally, but I will also continue to push regionally and statewide to build…more… homes.

But we also have to be honest: this crisis won't be solved city by city. It is high time we nationalize this conversation!

Later this year, I will have the opportunity to help lead that effort as I assume the Presidency of the United States Conference of Mayors -- — the bipartisan voice for America's mayors for nearly a century.

For the first time, San Diego will lead this organization, and I will do so with a laser focus on building more homes and bringing costs down.

Because this is not just a San Diego problem. It's an American problem. And the federal government must get into the game!

The Trump Administration must strengthen — not gut— the tools that help communities build and make the American Dream real again!

And we must make it real again not by just preserving the version we inherited, but making it work for this generation of Americans.

Because for some, homeownership is seen to exist only as the single-family home when, for many, it can look like so much more.

It can be row homes. Townhomes. Condos. Homes that fit families and budgets - and fit into existing neighborhoods.

That's why this past year, I introduced my “Neighborhood Homes for All of Us” initiative designed to create more kinds of housing for working and middle-class San Diegans.

That initiative aims to allow the kinds of homes I just described in places where they are prohibited today.

We are currently conducting public engagement on this initiative, and my administration will bring forward a proposal for City Council consideration later this year, and I urge their adoption of it.

In addition to these policy changes, this year, we will be pairing that with another key priority: transforming underused city land into housing.

That includes the Sports Arena property.

Legal challenges have caused some to doubt the future of the project known as Midway Rising, so let me be crystal clear: The redevelopment of the Sports Arena will move forward!

We will get this done!

This 48-acre site of underutilized public property can be transformed into over four thousand two hundred new homes with affordable housing, 14 acres of new public parks, and a world-class arena to attract more events and talent to our city!

Public land should serve the public — and right now, serving the public means building more homes!

So, this spring, I will bring this project forward for public hearings and a vote from the City Council.

Let me also say this: I remain focused on converting other city-owned property like 101 Ash, the Old Central Library, and the indoor skydiving facility into housing.

That also includes this Civic Center property where I know we can reimagine and activate it to the benefit of the people of San Diego.

This year, we will bring forward for City Council consideration, a proposal to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with the San Diego Community College District for the redevelopment of Golden Hall.

My office will continue to work diligently with the community and the Prebys Foundation on advancing the broader vision for this property this year which will ultimately allow for housing, public spaces and the revitalization of our downtown.

Because when we expand housing opportunity, it doesn't just change a skyline or improve a neighborhood. It changes what becomes possible for people.

And when housing is scarce and unaffordable, you don't just feel it on the first of the month - you see it in the consequences in human lives pushed to the edge and onto our streets.

Homelessness

My administration has approached homelessness with a clear understanding: this issue is urgent, it is complex, and it requires action.

And the results of our efforts are becoming clearer.

This past year, the Regional Task Force on Homelessness reported a nearly 14% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in the city of San Diego.

And the Downtown San Diego Partnership has also recorded a dramatic decrease in tent encampments.

You can see it - and the data confirms it.

Together, we expanded shelter, strengthened outreach, created real pathways off the street, and insisted on a simple truth: a sidewalk is not a home.

In 2025 alone, we connected more than one thousand three hundred and fifty people to housing — which brings us to nearly seven thousand people housed over the five years of my administration.

And we expanded options for people living in their vehicles.

As promised, we opened the City's largest Safe Parking lot at H Barracks near the San Diego International Airport - offering 190 spaces for cars and RVs.

And as a result, we were able to resume enforcement of the City's Oversized Vehicle Ordinance, which had been legally challenged — allowing RVs to proliferate with no recourse until the lawsuit was resolved.

With H Barracks, we now have a safe alternative for people living in their vehicles — and that's what made enforcement fair and possible again.

And we applied that same approach in another area where the City's hands were tied for years: encampments along our freeways.

Thanks to the work of our Government Affairs team and the support of State Senator Catherine Blakespear, who is here with us today, we reached an agreement with Caltrans that allowed us to clear encampments along select freeway on- and off-ramps.

We cleared two hundred and eight tons of trash, and connected ninety-five people who were living on the state right-of-way to shelter or services.

And we're seeing another important result: preliminary data shows encampment-related fires along our freeway corridors are down 48%.

That's fewer dangerous fires, fewer closures, and fewer risks for the public and first responders — and I want to thank Fire-Rescue Chief Logan for his leadership and partnership in driving that progress.

Those outcomes are real — and you can see them.

We can also see that there is more to do - and I want to do more.

Because this agreement with Caltrans has proven so successful, I am urging state leaders to expand it to allow City crews to cover more areas next to freeways where we know tent encampments exist.

And I'm making that ask because the momentum and the progress are real, but it is not permanent unless we maintain it.

The work we've done depends on maintaining partnerships and funding- and right now, I'm concerned that stability is at-risk.

At the federal level, the Trump Administration's illegal and reckless policy changes to HUD funding have created a real vulnerability for cities like ours that could push people out of shelters and back onto the streets.

If those federal dollars are delayed, reduced or eliminated, you will soon see the results in your neighborhoods and on your sidewalks.

At the state level, California's budget instability has cut funding to the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program that funds our city's shelters creating the risk that we will lose momentum right when we need to accelerate our success.

We need to stop treating this program like a short-term fix and elevate it to the dependable, ongoing resource that this crisis demands.

That's why I am calling on anyone running to lead this state as our next Governor to pledge to make HHAP a permanent staple of our state budget.

And as we fight for stable funding to keep people sheltered, we also need a renewed partnership from all levels of government to confront what remains most visible on our streets: severe mental illness and addiction.

I see it - and I know you can see it too.

The people screaming, shouting, and acting out;

The people folded over, lost in the grip of illicit fentanyl;

The people standing in the middle of oncoming traffic;

The people openly lighting up on the sidewalk.

The truth is many of the people still living on our streets are not just unsheltered. They are untreated.

We need more treatment capacity. More psychiatric care beds. More detox and long-term recovery options. We need faster pathways from the street into care.

And the responsibility for treating the mental illness and addiction we see on our streets- by law and by funding - belongs to the County of San Diego.

Last year, you'll recall I said that very clearly.

This year, I'm going to say this just as clearly: That doesn't mean the City of San Diego steps back. It means that we must step forward together.

This challenge is bigger than any one agency. And it will only be solved if we operate as one system.

And we are already proving what's possible when we do.

The City, the County, the San Diego Housing Commission, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are partnering on a Homekey+ project to create 82 new homes for people struggling with behavioral health challenges - a model that pairs housing with services to get people off the street for good.

That project moved forward with unanimous support from the County Board of Supervisors - and I want to acknowledge Supervisors Joel Anderson and Paloma Aguirre, who are here with us today, for their support in getting this done.

And as the County advances applications for the State's Proposition 1 funding to build more beds and treatment facilities, the City will continue to support those efforts - because our region cannot accept the status quo.

So, yes: the County has the responsibility for treatment. And the City has the responsibility to insist that treatment exists while continuing to do everything we can to bring people inside and connect them to help.

Because when a person is suffering in the open - unhoused, untreated, in crisis - it affects not only their life, but it shapes whether people feel safe in our city.

Public Safety

And the truth is, San Diego is one of the safest big cities in America.

That didn't happen by accident.

It happened because San Diegans have deep pride in our communities, want us to invest in smart crime-fighting strategies, and because we support the people who protect and serve our neighborhoods.

And this year, for a third consecutive year, crime is down in the City of San Diego.

Overall crime decreased by six percent.

Murders are down by 22%.

Sexual assault -down by seven percent.

Vehicle thefts declined by 22%.

In addition, thanks to the overwhelming approval of Proposition 36 — a measure that I supported that gives law enforcement and prosecutors stronger tools to hold repeat retail thieves accountable — we are now seeing progress in curbing retail theft.

Local authorities do, however, still need resources to fully implement the law as voters intended.

So today, I call on State leaders to appropriately fund the full implementation of Prop. 36.

This measure was approved by nearly 70% of California voters. It is the will of the people - and the State must fulfill it.

A key part of upholding public safety means restoring dignity in communities that have endured harm for too long.

In Barrio Logan around Dalbergia Street, residents and businesses have faced the unchecked impacts of sex trafficking because state law didn't have strong enough tools to hold traffickers accountable — leaving exploitation to play out in front of families, schools, and businesses.

That is completely unacceptable, so we took action in Sacramento and passed a new law to crack down on traffickers and protect victims.

I want to thank State Assemblymembers Nick Schultz and Maggy Krell for authoring it, and Governor Newsom for signing it.

Restoring dignity and safety in our neighborhoods also means recognizing a hard truth:

Sometimes the threat to public safety comes from decisions made far from us -- in our nation's capital -- and carried out in ways that are designed to instill fear here at home.

That is exactly what we are seeing from the President and his Administration.

Through its ICE operations, the Trump Administration is waging a campaign of fear that is terrorizing communities across this country.

And you can see it.

In the families torn apart. Neighborhoods thrown into chaos. Innocent bystanders put at risk.

And in local police officers forced into volatile situations they didn't ask for — and didn't create.

We have seen where this kind of reckless enforcement leads.

We have seen this danger firsthand — in South Park last May.

And most recently the nation saw this firsthand, in the murder of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota -- a life lost because of the callous and reckless actions of an ICE Agent, which outraged all of us.

California law is clear: Local police are prohibited from participating in federal immigration enforcement.

And San Diego will follow that law — fully and without exception.

That is why last July, I signed an executive order making it unmistakably clear — directing that the San Diego Police Department will not participate in ICE enforcement operations.

SDPD is here to protect our communities — all of our communities — including our immigrant community.

And I want to thank Chief Wahl for his leadership and for standing firm in that commitment.

We are a border city. A proud binational city. And that is part of what makes us America's Finest City.

And as your Mayor, I will do everything I can to protect the people of this city — to keep families safe, to support our officers, and to uphold public safety for everyone who calls San Diego home.

Now, safety is not just about policing. It's also about the condition of the city around us — the roads, streetlights, sidewalks, and basic infrastructure that shape daily life.

Infrastructure

San Diego is a city of extraordinary beauty, but we can't just get by on our looks. We also have to be a city that functions well.

That means roads that are smooth. Sidewalks without trip hazards. Streetlights that work. Storm drains that do what they are supposed to do.

For years, residents in every corner of this city have said the same thing: take care of the basics.

And that's what we are doing.

This past year, we resurfaced or repaired four hundred and sixty-eight miles of roads and filled more than forty-four thousand potholes.

All told, we've repaired two thousand one hundred and sixty-one miles of roads to date — one-third of all city-maintained streets.

And this year, we are on track to complete over three hundred and seventy additional miles of road repair.

Now we all know our roads still aren't where they need to be.

Anyone who drives across San Diego knows we have more to do - but the truth is, we need more sustained resources to meet the standard you expect and deserve.

Of course, our infrastructure isn't just roads. It's also streetlights that actually turn on.

Because when a streetlight is out - it's not a small thing - it changes how a block feels, whether a parent feels comfortable walking with their kids at night, or whether a senior feels safe crossing the street.

Thanks to the City Council's support of redirecting parking meter revenue to City crews, we've done record work to repair streetlights in neighborhoods across the city.

And you can see it.

This year, we are on track to complete more than two thousand streetlight repairs.

And right alongside streetlights is the need to repair our sidewalks.

This past year, we replaced the most sidewalks in city history — over one thousand five hundred locations — nearly tripling the previous record of five hundred and sixty-five back in 2021.

There is another powerful infrastructure investment we are making in the future of San Diego.

An investment that strengthens our neighborhoods. An investment that supports our residents.

And an investment that is paid for by the visitors who come here to enjoy our great city.

After nearly five long years of legal obstacles, Measure C — which was approved by the voters of San Diego in 2020 — has finally been upheld.

And with that victory, we can now move forward.

Measure C increased the tourism tax on visitors, so we can reinvest those dollars right back into our city — into our roads, into addressing homelessness, and into modernizing one of our most important economic engines: the San Diego Convention Center.

Since last May, Measure C has already generated thirty-five million dollars.

And today, I can announce that we will be asking the City Council to approve a five-year, one hundred eighteen-million-dollar modernization plan for the Convention Center — and to approve the first twenty-one million dollars to launch this work almost immediately.

A project that will strengthen our tourism economy. And a project that will create opportunity for thousands of San Diegans -- generating more than three thousand union construction jobs and over seven thousand permanent jobs right here in San Diego.

This is about growth. This is about opportunity. This is about building a stronger city for the next generation.

Close

My fellow San Diegans: when you pair stronger infrastructure and increased housing production, and combine it with a commitment to safety and dignity for all of us, something important happens:

This city becomes more than a place people visit.

It becomes a place people choose — again and again — for events, ideas, innovation and opportunity. A place where you can see a bright future ahead.

San Diego has always been a special place.

You know it, not only because you live here, but because when you tell people that you're from San Diego, their response is often: "I love San Diego!"

The difference now is that more of the world is seeing it — and choosing it.

As reported last month, the world-renowned “TED” Conference has chosen San Diego as the new home of its global gathering beginning in 2027 — bringing innovators, researchers, creators, and leaders from around the world to our city.

This past November, the WWE chose to bring a premium live event to San Diego for the first time in a decade — drawing more than 46,000 fans from around the world to Petco Park, showcasing our city on a global stage, and bringing customers to our local small businesses.

This June, NASCAR will do the same.

Right now, we are one of three cities — and the only American city — under consideration to host the 2029 Invictus Games — a global sports competition for wounded and injured veterans.

These things matter not just because they're exciting, but because they signal something bigger:

That the City of San Diego is a world-class destination, a hub of talent, a city with an economy that attracts investment, and a community that welcomes visitors, with a quality of life that other cities envy;

And when you connect those dots and you step back and take it all in, what you're seeing is more than progress on individual issues.

You're seeing a city that is aligning its ambitions with its action.

You're seeing a city that is matching its responsibilities with its resources.

You're seeing a city that is finally choosing long-term strength over short-term comfort.

You're seeing a city that is becoming what it has always had the potential to be.

You see, our city's story continues to be written.

Some prefer to tell it with cynicism and an outlook where the glass is always half empty.

A San Diego that is always judged by what's wrong and never by what's improving.

My fellow San Diegans, we are not those people.

Because the truest stories about who we are as a city are told in what is built, in what is repaired, in what is protected, and in what is finally made possible.

It's a city choosing to do the hard work instead of the easy excuse.

Choosing to fix what's long been deferred.

Choosing to build what was denied.

Choosing to face what's been avoided.

And then - choosing to keep going.

That is our story in this moment. That is who we are.

And when we make those choices, over time, progress stops being abstract — it becomes visible.

You can see it, and you can also see what still needs to be done.

There is more to build. More to repair. More to protect. And more to lift up. And we will continue to do that work!

So, keep your eyes on the city we are building - and hold us accountable to build it!

Keep your faith in the work that is transforming our city for the better!

Keep your belief in the people who make this city run — our city employees, first responders, educators, entrepreneurs, volunteers, and neighbors!

Because San Diego is moving forward. We are building! We are leading! We are a city in transformation!

And if you want proof you don't have to look far.

The markers of progress are all around - and there is even more ahead.

All we have to do is choose to see it!

Thank you.

May God Bless You, and May God Bless the great City of San Diego!

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