2021 PATRICIA LOCKE-DAWSON STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

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STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS by Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson January 28, 2021 Good evening and thank you for joining me for my very first State of the City address as the 18th Mayor of the City of Riverside. A special thank you to the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, particularly my friend Cindy Roth, for hosting a State of the City unlike any other. Thank you, Cindy, for your continued leadership. Businesses in the City of Riverside are fortunate to have the very best chamber in California advocating on their behalf. Thank you to the City Council and City Management and staff for your warm welcome. I look forward to the years ahead of working alongside the City of Riverside team in service to our community. I'd also like to thank you --the residents, business owners, and families of Riverside for trusting me with the great honor and privilege of leading our City. Thank you for your confidence in me. I am committed to serving all of Riverside and I do not take that responsibility lightly. Today I share with you a call to action, a call for all of us to work: Together Towards Tomorrow. Because as many of you have heard me say: Riverside's best days are ahead of us. This is a core belief I have in our City and its future. But we must first acknowledge where we are. The Covid-19 pandemic has struck a blow to the spirit of Riverside, resulting in painful losses of family, friends and livelihoods. Many Riversiders are struggling to make ends meet. Our healthcare system is at the brink, and our students and teachers are challenged by online learning. As a community, we have had to change our way of life --asking ourselves questions like, "Is it safe to go to the grocery store? Will they have what my household needs? Will I be able to pay my bills each month? When can I spend time with friends and family again?" These are the questions that keep so many of our loved ones and neighbors up at night. While we remain at this critical stage in the pandemic, we cannot allow fatigue or frustration to set in. A lot of time, effort, and money has gone into helping people get through the shutdowns and, while both business and personal losses have set in for many, we must never forget there is hope. Hope for tomorrow and hope for our collective future. We will get through this dark moment in our history. We will prevail. The COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out and we continue to fight the pandemic in the here and now, but we must also begin preparing for life after the pandemic. For us, a post-COVID Riverside will be shaped by --not defined by the pandemic. A Riverside where we do what we have done so well before --create opportunity from adversity. A Riverside that has a vibrant, diverse economy where small and large businesses thrive, where people live where they work, know their neighbors, feel safe on our streets, where our parks are clean and our public spaces welcoming and accessible. But most of all where people feel included because they are