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We know that challenges require leadership, not just in government, but across stakeholder <br />groups. Everything rises and falls on leadership, and I could not be more confident in the leaders <br />in place across all sectors in our community, especially our City Council, both past and present. <br />Serving alongside each and every one of you has been an honor for me. <br />Our foundations have been greatly aided by our military bases and educational institutions. So, <br />let us recognize our newest leaders in the community: <br />Captain Hembree -Bey, Commanding Officer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, <br />Brigadier General Coburn, the first female Commander of the 452nd Air Mobility Wing, <br />March Air Reserve Base, <br />Dr. Fehr, the first female President of La Sierra University in its 100 -year history. <br />And of course, with two new Councilwomen, some might argue that 2019 was the year of the <br />woman in Riverside! Well, every year is the year of the woman in my house. <br />Now let me tell you about the three cornerstones that our city must depend on to achieve our <br />goals - Economic Development, Housing and Regional Leadership. <br />In one -word, economic development means money. Money in the form of property and property <br />value, revenue and income, investment and building. Economic development is the potential of a <br />community to grow and employ its residents, to take care of others, to support worthy causes, <br />and to create more wealth for everyone. <br />We have a lot of economic development potential in this region. Here is what Rob Dodman, one <br />of the principals behind the Imperial Hardware Lofts says about the potential of downtown <br />Riverside. <Rob Dodman Video> <br />In 2019, only 10% of the City of Riverside's contracts were awarded to local companies. Just <br />think what foundation we could lay if we kept the millions of dollars a year that leak out of our <br />city HERE in Riverside. What if the city offered stronger local preference policies? What if more <br />local companies bid on city contracts? What if executives primarily purchased products from <br />other businesses here? Instead of investing in property or projects elsewhere. I challenge you to <br />seek investment opportunities right here in your home town. <br />To meet you there, I challenge our City Manager, Al Zelinka, to start up an investment portal, to <br />provide interested parties with quick access to opportunities in Riverside. <br />A report unveiled just last week at city council called, "Poised for Prosperity" — will frame our <br />new economic development action plan. The framework calls for focused attention on enterprise <br />"pollinators" meaning self-financing private businesses, entrepreneurs and partnerships that <br />stimulate local growth in high-priority job areas. Think manufacturing of prototypes in clean and <br />green tech, or intellectual property pollinators operating from the ExCITE Incubator downtown. <br />Page 2 of 9 <br />