Mayor Jones's State of the City Address
Apr 28th, 2010
Below is the State of the City address given by Mayor Sam Jones on Wednesday, April 28, 2010:Thank you! Good afternoon.
Before I move along in the speech – I’d like to thank the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce for their continued staging of this event for 13 years; Chamber Chairman David Trent and its Board of Directors.
In recognition of our head table, I take this opportunity to salute you, the exceptional citizens and friends of Mobile - a magnificent city.
This event symbolizes the unity between the business community and city government. we have a common denominator; we all want what is in the best interest of our city.
To my colleagues on the Mobile City Council: Council President Reggie Copeland, Vice President Fred Richardson, Council members William Carroll, Jermaine Burrell, John Williams, Connie Hudson and Gina Gregory.
I have come to realize in this world of uncertainties that it does not matter that you are in a fight, but you know that there are others in the arena with you. It is assuring to know that the Council is looking out for the City’s well being.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Dr. Martin Luther King
I am certain you are aware of the turbulence at the city of Mobile over the past month.
I would love to stand here today and say Mobile escaped the economic downturn that has hit the coffers of cities, counties and other governmental entities throughout this nation. But I can’t.
Though our city is still poised for greatness, the downturn in the national economy still came upon our shores.
Though we pride ourselves on being the best place for economic growth, the national economic downturn still hit us.
Though our Port is among the nation’s best shipping seaports, the national economic downturn still hit us.
Though our city still has some of the best parks, museums and natural resources, the national economic downturn still hit us.
Though our children’s test scores are improving, the national economic downturn still hit us.
Though our downtown is the jewel of the city, the national economic downturn still hit us.
Though we have some of the best citizens in the country within our city limits, the national economic downturn still hit us.
We could go on and on, pointing to our city’s greatness and to the cause of our current economic crisis.
We could point fingers, dissect the city’s operational fibers and argue over when the downturn hit. The fact remains, the downturn has hit Mobile. And now what are we going to do about it? And how do we see our city in the midst of this crisis?
A great thinker of our time said there is far more blindness than meets the eye. And he said that the signals, be they from the home, the school or work, the signals suggest that we are a sightless people. That is, we are a people who have not acquired the ability to see. Now seeing is different from being engulfed and being enlightened. Seeing is the difference in being ignorant and being intelligent seeing. Seeing is the difference in dullness and distinctiveness. Seeing is the difference in imagining and knowing. Seeing is the difference in being fearful and being faithful. The question before us is what do you see? Would your response be like that man in mark 8? Jesus said what do you see? He said I see men as trees. Do you see our challenges as tall as trees? Do you see our circumstances larger than life? The question before us is what do we see?
A city of greatness or a crisis that is beyond our collective repair? A cup half empty or a cup half full?
The urgency now is that the house is on fire and we can’t stop and paint the porch. We must first extinguish the fire.
The City of Mobile has some of the best, most talented and dedicated employees. They, not the critics of fatness in government, have dug deep and cut over $22 million from their respective budgets.
The gapping cuts did not just begin. They began cutting a year ago. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
The mobile community has been blessed with unparalleled progress in this state and region. We have developed into a very competitive tourist destination for conventions, entertainment, sports, cruises, the arts and most importantly, quality of life. We’ve led the state and cities our size in the nation in investment, economic development and business climate. Our partnership approach and global nature is the envy of the south. But none of these gains came without challenges and sacrifices. We have not always been successful or competitive. There are those who withstood many hardships and setbacks to bring us to this very place and time.
There was a time and era when the city and county did not communicate and the chamber of commerce was ineffective. But we worked hard at a positive change with a belief that the future well being of our community was much more important than self centered politics and fragmented approaches to progress.
We have seen economic challenges in the past. But we have never allowed a challenge to deter our goal of being a great community that provides an excellent quality of life for all of its citizens. On many occasions we have had to make tough decisions that were not our desire. They were unpopular and difficult, but necessary at the time. There is no painless way to address a crisis. There is no adequate ceremonial patch that will sustain a great city. There is no room for procrastination, political posturing or just plain inaction.
We are still on the threshold of greatness and cannot afford nor should we tolerate the possibility of a set back in our ability to capture the opportunities before us. We cannot go back from whence we have come and be a successful community. We cannot limit services to citizens or fail to support those agencies that are the underpinning of the social and cultural fabric of our city. We cannot afford not to be active in the recruitment of jobs and opportunities for our citizens. We cannot appear to be a city in crisis regionally or nationally and remain competitive. If we allow a financial challenge to dominate every area of our community, we are destined to go backwards for the first time in over 20 years. History will not be kind to our generation of leadership if we allow that to happen. We have an option and ability to sure up our city for 28 months that will lead to the future prosperity that we desire. Now is the time for open minds, for a closed mind shrinks the soul, withers ambition, hardens the heart, binds the will, chills faith and destroys hope.
We do not solve a problem by creating employee-family hardships or increasing our already high unemployment rate. I am proud of our city. I am optimistic that we can and will remove the temporary shadow over our city so we can continue the progress that every one of our citizens has contributed.
A noted clergyman Dr. Billy Graham profoundly said, “hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.”
There are measures that we must take to ensure efficiency and accountability. We have started that process and plan to expand it by involving the business community and experts in the field. There are also some changes we must advocate in personnel rules, tax reform and innovative management strategies. We welcome and embrace these necessary goals. We have learned a lot from this historic unprecedented recession.
I am convinced that we have a solution that will not adversely affect our economy based on the opinion of a local economist and is temporary by intent and application.
Mobile has been through storms before; and we have managed to keep our eyes focused on what is important to our city’s future growth.
This economic crisis has not minimized all the great things happening in our city. I remain optimistic about our future. We have diversified our economy and are better poised than most for recovery. We have invested in new industries that are just now coming on line with better jobs for our citizens.
By working together, we have become a major player on the world aerospace stage. Our waterfront industries have been transformed and are now designing and building the most sophisticated ships in the world. We now are the world’s newest and most advanced center of steel production with hundreds of new jobs about to come on line.
I firmly believe that the Lord puts hard things in our way not to stop us but to call on our courage, strength and faith. Together we can meet that challenge.
Due to our budget shortfall this year we took a novel approach for our state of the city publication. Instead of a brochure or a booklet - we saved money and created postcards touting some of the great things in our city. Please take them and mail them to family and friends; and say “look at Mobile now.”
There’s one postcard that has a special significance. EADS North America has committed to bidding in the tanker competition. They believe in mobile; so let’s show them that we believe in them. This is a pre-printed postcard to President Barack Obama. Take a moment, spend twenty-eight cents and tell the president – look at Mobile now!
We can embrace our city with new ideas and aspirations – a testament to our ability to create a better tomorrow.
Mobile’s greatness has not changed; it can only get better if we keep our eyes collectively focused in the same direction. We have painted the porch for three weeks. It is time to act and put out the fire. God bless our city and each of you!