Mayor’s State of the City Speech: The Road Ahead
Coming together and building community in difficult times

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels today delivered his eighth State of the City speech, emphasizing job creation, calling for new partnerships to help those in need, and promoting a new effort to mobilize 10,000 new volunteers.

Nickels said his "Seattle Jobs Forward" package will move up the schedule for public works projects, putting 1,500 people to work in the next two years. Seattle Jobs Forward includes $315 million in projects from local levies and the city’s capital improvement program that will be prioritized, including transportation, infrastructure and community spaces projects.

In difficult economic times, the Mayor said the City and community must come together to help the growing number of people who are struggling. He also called on volunteers across the city to reach out to their neighbors.

"Despite their worries, people – especially young people – want to help. They want to be asked. They want to know what they can do for their city, their country, their planet," said Nickels. "It is up to us to capture this spirit. Neighbor by neighbor, business by business, we must lend each other a helping hand. That is how we will emerge stronger."

The city will partner with the United Way of King County to offer volunteer opportunities. Throughout the year, Nickels will highlight good works and encourage community building.

"Today there is a clear need for even more volunteerism, since surmounting our current challenges will take a deepened sense of community and a greater sharing of time and talent. We thank Mayor Nickels for sounding the call," said Jon Fine, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of King County.

Nickels also asked community leaders, churches, parents, teachers, business leaders and others to join in preventing youth violence. As part of the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, the Mayor announced that the city signed an agreement this morning with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle to put outreach workers in communities and to offer young people a way out of the cycle of violence.

This neighborhood network in the Central area will be the first of three youth service networks created by the city’s $8 million initiative. Nickels called for a summit on youth violence prevention to exchange ideas and gain inspiration to do more.

Despite the economic downturn, there are signs of hope, said Nickels. Investments in urban villages and business centers such as South Lake Union continue to employ thousands of residents.

Nickels delivered the speech at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, which received $1.2 million from the city of Seattle for its new facility. The mayor noted that Rainier Vista, a successful public housing development, was just across the street, and that the new light rail trains will cruise along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard this summer.

To read the Mayor's full State of the City Speech, click here.

To watch the Mayor's 2009 State of the City Address, click here. (brought to you by the Seattle Channel)

Get the Nickels Newsletter and the mayor’s inside view on transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities. Sign up at mayor.seattle.gov

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Office of the Mayor