2026 State of the City Address by Mayor Todd Gloria – January 15, 2026
2026 State of the City Address \n\nThe San Diego City Council convened on January 15, 2026, for the annual State of the City address delivered by Mayor Todd Gloria. The meeting included a land acknowledgment, invocation, presentation of colors, and the Pledge of Allegiance led by the Mayor for a Day contest winner. Mayor Gloria reported on progress across major policy areas including finances, housing, homelessness, public safety, and infrastructure, while also acknowledging ongoing challenges and calling for continued partnership with state and federal governments.\n\n### Public Comments & Testimony\n- An individual interrupted the Mayor’s address with shouted comments critical of the city’s approach to homelessness and public engagement (e.g., “You’re afraid of our voices… You won’t meet with us”). The individual was removed by security.\n\n### Discussion Items\n- Fiscal Stability: Mayor Gloria described a $318 million structural budget deficit inherited from decades of underfunding. His administration eliminated nine city departments, cut $35 million in contracts and management positions, and moved employees into city-owned spaces to save $13 million. He stated that $270 million of the deficit was addressed in the current year, with further cuts needed due to tariffs and federal budget uncertainty.\n- Housing Production: Mayor Gloria highlighted a UC Berkeley study naming San Diego a leading city in housing policy reform. He noted that the city permitted about 7,500 homes in 2025—nearly double the historical average of 4,300 per year. Community plan updates added capacity for 105,000 new homes. The Bridge to Home program helped fund 2,676 affordable homes, and the Affordable Housing Permit Now program greenlit 4,300 more. He also announced the "Neighborhood Homes for All of Us" initiative to allow row homes, townhomes, and condos in single-family zones, with a proposal expected later in 2026.\n- Sports Arena Redevelopment: Mayor Gloria confirmed that the 48-acre Sports Arena site (Midway Rising) would move forward with public hearings and a council vote in spring 2026. The project plans to produce over 4,200 homes, 14 acres of parks, and a new arena.\n- Homelessness: The Mayor reported a nearly 14% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in San Diego per the regional task force. In 2025, over 1,350 people were housed, totaling nearly 7,000 during his tenure. The city opened the largest safe parking lot at H Barracks (190 spaces) and, through a Caltrans agreement, cleared 208 tons of trash from freeway encampments and housed 95 people. Encampment-related fires along freeways fell 48%. He called on the next governor to make the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program a permanent state fund.\n- Public Safety: Mayor Gloria cited preliminary 2025 crime data showing murder down 22%, sexual assault down 7%, and vehicle theft down 22%. He credited Proposition 36 for curbing retail theft but urged state leaders to fully fund its implementation. He also highlighted a new state law cracking down on sex trafficking in Barrio Logan.\n- Immigration Enforcement: The Mayor reiterated that San Diego Police will not participate in federal ICE operations, citing California law and his July 2025 executive order. He criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies for creating fear and referenced the killing of Renee Nicole Goetz in Minnesota.\n- Infrastructure: Mayor Gloria reported that the city resurfaced or repaired 468 miles of roads in the past year (2,161 miles under his administration). He noted record sidewalk repairs—over 1,500 locations in the past year—and a goal of 2,000 streetlight repairs in the coming year. He announced a five-year, $118 million modernization plan for the San Diego Convention Center, funded by Measure C (tourism tax), which has already generated $35 million since May 2025.\n- Global and Regional Engagements: The Mayor noted the TED Conference’s decision to relocate its global gathering to San Diego beginning in 2027, and that San Diego is one of three cities under consideration to host the 2029 Invictus Games. He is set to assume the presidency of the United States Conference of Mayors later in 2026.\n- Mental Health and Addiction: The Mayor acknowledged that many unhoused individuals also need treatment for mental illness and addiction, which he stated is primarily the county’s responsibility. He highlighted a Home Key Plus project with the county, the Housing Commission, and the VA to create 82 homes for people with behavioral health challenges.\n\n### Key Outcomes\n- Directives and Calls to Action: Mayor Gloria urged state leaders to expand the Caltrans encampment-clearing agreement, asked candidates for governor to pledge permanent HHAP funding, and called on the state to fully fund Proposition 36 implementation.\n- Upcoming Actions: The Sports Arena redevelopment will face public hearings and a council vote in spring 2026. The Neighborhood Homes for All of Us initiative will be formally proposed later in 2026. The City Council was asked to approve $21 million to launch the Convention Center modernization plan.\n- Meeting Adjournment: The council was adjourned to its next regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, January 26, 2026, at 10 a.m.
Meeting Transcript
All right, are we ready to rock and roll? Good afternoon. I now reconvene and call the special city council meeting of Thursday, January 15th, 2026 to order. I am San Diego City Council President Joe Lacava, representing Council District One. My colleagues on the San Diego Council who are here with us in attendance, representing Council District 6, City Council President, Pro TAM can't lead. There we go. I'm sorry we didn't have cue cards for you all in the audience. Representing Council District 2, Councilmember Jennifer Campbell. Representing Council District 3, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn. Representing Council District 4, Councilmember Henry Foster III. Representing Council District 5, Councilmember Marnie Von Wilpert. Representing Council District 8, Councilmember Vinnie Vivian Moreno. And representing Council District 9, Councilmember Sean Eloh Rivera. With council members present in chambers, a quorum is established, and we are reconvened. We'd also like to acknowledge City Attorney Heather Ferbert. Independent budget analyst Charles Monica, City Clerk Deanna Fuentes, and City Auditor Andy Hanow. I welcome all of you here in City Council Chambers and everyone watching at home to the 2026 State of the City addressed by our mayor, the Honorable Todd Gloria. In addition, and I ask you to hold your applause, I know it will be difficult. We have a number of elected officials in attendance, including California State Senator Catherine Blakespear, County Supervisor Paloma Geary, County Supervisor Joel Anderson, County Assessor Recorder Clerk Jordan Marks, San Diego Unified School District Trustee, Shauna Hazen, and Sandy San the Sidro School Board Trustee, Martin Arias. We also have representatives from the offices of Governor Gavin Newsom, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator Adam Shift, Congressman Juan Vargas, Congressman Mike Levin, State Senators Brian Jones and Steve Padilla, State Assembly Members David Alvarez, Tasha Berner, Le Shea Sharp Collins, Darshana Potel, and Chris Ward, and also a representative for District Attorney Summer Stephen. I also recognize our international friends in attendance, including and sonata mayor Claudia Agron Muniz, Council General of Mexico, Ambassador Alicia Kerbert Palma, Representatives from Tijuana and the state of Baja California, and honorary council generals representing Brazil, Philippines, and Portugal. To our elected officials and representatives, if you would please join me in standing and give them a warm round of applause and a welcome to City Hall, again, thank you all for being here for the 2026 State of the City Add. Just a reminder, as we are in City Council Chambers, and this is an official city council meeting. We have these practices and procedures to protect the rights of speakers who wish to address the council and to allow the city to conduct the public's business. At this point, if any person or group of persons engages in behavior that disrupts, disturbs, or impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting, they will be in violation of state law and the rules of counsel in the municipal code and will be removed from the meeting. Once again, we have these practices and procedures to allow the city to conduct the public's business. To begin today's ceremony, we respectfully acknowledge that we are on Native American land. So please rise and join me as I lead us in a land acknowledgement. We respectfully acknowledge that Kumaye Nation are the original inhabitants of the unceded land now known as San Diego. Despite enduring the horrors of genocide and colonization, the Kumaya spirit remains unbroken. We honor the resilience of those ancestors who fought to protect their culture and land. And today they carry their legacy forward, ensuring that their traditions continue to thrive in gratitude and strength. We stand with the Kumae Nation connected to our past and committed to a thriving future. Please remain standing. And with that, San Diego is proud to be one of the safest big cities in the country, and that is thanks to our brave public safety professionals, including our very own San Diego police and fire rescue departments. To provide today's invocation is Chuck Price, the chaplain for the San Diego Police Department. Chaplain Price. Will you please bow in prayer with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for this moment together to reflect on where we have been and to look ahead on where we are going. As we consider the work that has been done and the work still before us, may we not overlook the foundational gifts we so often take for granted. The breath in our lungs, the hearts that be within us, the capacity to think and reason, the blessing of loving and being loved, and the full range of human experience from joy to sorrow that shapes who we are. As we move forward, we ask that you grant wisdom and understanding to our elected officials and all leaders throughout this city. May they serve the people of San Diego with humility, integrity, and honor. Guide the mayor, the city council, and all who carry responsibility to lead with servants' hearts, placing the needs of others above their own. Grant them discernment beyond their years, experience, and training, and empower them to use their God-given talents to cultivate a city that is safe, strong, and thriving. Bless our time together today. The words of the mayor will share this remarkable city and all who are proud to call San Diego home, and we pray all these things in your name. Amen.
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