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"Elected officials and their families expect to make certain sacrifices -- loss of privacy, long hours, loss of time
<br />together, being "fair game" to reporters -- but to make the ultimate sacrifice is an unthinkable, yet latent fear.
<br />Tuesday October 6, 1998 took a very scary turn, but was not a tragic day. City officials, police officers, and
<br />emergency crews all did their job. Dead bodies were not removed from the Council Chambers."
<br />"The past few days have been a roller coaster ride -- and Lord knows I'm not a roller coaster fan. Dormant
<br />emotions rose to the surface. Not surprisingly, the powerful impact has been the outpouring of love and support
<br />-- the flowers, the phone calls, the e- mails, the cards -- from all over the world. We have heard from friends and
<br />neighbors, from former students, from colleagues, from strangers, from businesses, from people whose paths
<br />crossed ours recently or many years ago. People on the street have hugged us and shed tears with us. This
<br />affirmation is overwhelming and it is crucial to the healing of our wounds -- for we all have been wounded."
<br />"Those whose lives were spared on Tuesday have work left to do. And the people of Riverside will be with
<br />them to do it. This is a great city. Thank you all."
<br />League of California Cities/National League of Cities - In 2004 I served as President of the State League. It
<br />was the year of Proposition 1 A, a statewide ballot measure to keep the State from taking local revenues. The
<br />measure passed by over 84 %, an extraordinary margin. And in 2010, I served as President of NLC. It was a
<br />year when I took the story of Riverside on the road, to D.C. and many states, as well as internationally.
<br />However, my most vivid memory was the NLC Board of Directors meeting at the Mission Inn -- I can still hear
<br />their kudos for Riverside.
<br />Diverse Community - As an increasingly diverse city, I am proud of many initiatives that have taken form over
<br />my years as Mayor. The Mayor's Multicultural Forum was the source of Building a More Inclusive
<br />Community Statement; it has been cited by leaders in the NLC as the best such statement in the country. The
<br />Grier Pavilion, named after civil rights and social justice advocates Jean and Barnett Grier, is also a striking
<br />statement of our commitment to be an inclusive community.
<br />Downtown Mall - When elected as Mayor, the Downtown Mall was distinguished only by a red tripod sculpture
<br />outside of City Hall. Funded by the Riverside Renaissance, the Mall has undergone a $10 million dollar
<br />restoration -- it looks terrific. As Mayor, I have strongly supported the memorials on the Mall to Ismael
<br />Villegas, Wall of Honor, Martin Luther King, Alm Chang Ho, Mahatma Gandhi, and Eliza Tibbets. And in
<br />November, there will be a memorial to Cesar Chavez. Except for Washington D.C., I cannot identify any other
<br />U.S. city with these kinds of memorials and the stories they tell on our Downtown Mall.
<br />Clean & Green City - Riverside is a green city, California's first Emerald City. We have a defining Green
<br />Action Plan. By 2020, the City is committed to 33% renewable energy and to 20 megawatts of solar -- we
<br />indeed are the model solar city in Southern California. The City uses alternative fuel vehicles for almost all
<br />non - public safety uses. In competition among the greenest cities in Southern California, Riverside tied for first!
<br />Sister Cities - Since taking office, our global reach has expanded from three sister cities by adding five more
<br />world class cities. We took the idea of a sister city to a new level by raising more than $600,000 for the Sendai
<br />relief fund. Our sister city innovations have made us the best of class.
<br />This final State of the City is not, however, a personal inventory. Rather, let me offer a City perspective, first
<br />by looking back, then at 2012, and finally -- and most importantly, looking forward.
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