Delivering his State of the City address, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria Thursday touted the city’s progress on key issues such as homelessness, housing and infrastructure, while also acknowledging challenges facing the municipality while touting future projects. Speaking from the Council Chamber in City Hall, Gloria said that over time, “progress stops being abstract, and starts being visible.” “Keep your eyes on the city we are building, and hold us accountable to build it,” he said. “Five years ago, when I took the oath to be your mayor, I did so with open eyes. San Diego was ready to stop running from its problems. I believed the city was ready for a new era. We are a city in transformation, and you can see it.” Gloria said that previously, San Diego government had pushed problems down the road “for somebody, someday to solve,” while costs rose, infrastructure aged and the city budget failed to keep up. Some of the accomplishments Gloria mentioned were: overall crime dropping by 6%, with murders decreasing 22%, sexual assaults falling 7% and vehicle thefts declining 22% the city resurfacing or repairing 468 miles of roads over the past year and the anticipated completion of 370 miles of road repairs for the 2025-26 fiscal year 2,676 affordable residences funded through Bridge to Home, with funding coming soon for hundreds more 4,300 affordable homes approved through Affordable Housing Permit Now, with another 2,000 “in the pipeline,” according to Gloria’s office a nearly 14% reduction in homelessness, according to the point-in-time count by Regional Task Force on Homelessness, while the Downtown San Diego Partnership has documented a “dramatic” reduction in tent encampments downtown Gloria said that in response to a $318 million structural budget deficit, his administration had closed $270 million in a single year. He said the city trimmed the deficit by cutting $35 million in contracts and management positions; eliminating six departments; moving employees from leased offices into city-owned facilities, saving $13 million; and restructuring leadership. Gloria said the city will face more tough budgetary decisions this year, with federal government funding reductions playing a role. Housing remains a big issue for San Diego, and “a great city is one where anyone who works hard and plays by the rules can (afford) to live here,” the mayor said. The city’s housing agenda is one of the most ambitious in California, Gloria said, pointing to a recent report by UC Berkeley that he said backs that claim. “We reformed outdated zoning to make room for new housing where it makes sense,” he said, noting how the city updated its community plan in various neighborhoods, increasing capacity for up to 105,000 new homes. “Still, I know that even with this progress, the cost of housing remains too expensive for too many families,” Gloria said. “Until more San Diegans can look at their rent or mortgage without cringing, our work is not finished.” With the lack of housing being an American problem — and not just one in San Diego — “the federal government needs to get in the game,” Gloria said, urging the Trump administration to do more to help people. At several times during the hour-long address, people in the gallery heckled Gloria, with one woman yelling, “Free Palestine.” One person loudly called out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while others yelled that Gloria wouldn’t meet with them. Gloria criticized the Trump administration via its ICE operations for “waging a campaign of fear,” resulting in families being torn apart, neighborhoods thrown into chaos and law enforcement put in situations they didn’t ask for. Gloria noted the recent fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, and the 2025 immigration raid in the San Diego neighborhood of South Park. Gloria stressed that California law “prohibits local law enforcement from participating in federal immigration enforcement and that San Diego will continue to follow that law fully and without exception.” He added that he signed an executive order last July providing specific direction on the topic to the San Diego Police Department. “SDPD is here to protect our communities — all of our communities — including our immigrant community,” Gloria said. “We are a border city. A proud binational city.” Gloria said this year, he will ask the City Council to approve a five-year plan to invest $119 million in Measure C funds to upgrade the San Diego Convention Center. According to Gloria’s office, the project “is expected to substantially increase the center’s economic impact while creating more than 3,000 union construction jobs and approximately 7,000 permanent jobs.” The project represents growth and building a stronger S.D. for generations, Gloria said. “The difference now is that more of the world is seeing it and choosing,” said Gloria, adding that last year, World Wrestling Entertainment returned the city for the first time in a decade, and NASCAR will host an event in 2026. Gloria said in 2027, the TED Conference will relocate to San Diego, which is also one of three cities being considered to host the 2029 Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded and injured veterans. In last year’s address, Gloria said a looming $252.2 million deficit presented an opportunity to revisit how the city operates. “The stark financial realities we face today will test our resolve,” he said. “This is not the time for retreat. This is not the time to slow down. This is the time to double down. We are moving forward.” In a show of austerity, last year’s address was moved from one of downtown San Diego’s theaters to the Council Chamber — a move repeated Thursday. After the speech, the president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages said the organization thanked Gloria “for his commitment to invest in solutions that better the lives of all who call our region home.” “These past several years have seen steps taken by the city to increase the stock of affordable housing and expand the number of available shelter beds,” Deacon Jim Vargas said in a statement. “Yet we are too far away from declaring the crisis our neighbors face, daily, on the streets, anywhere close to over. “In his coming budget, we call on the mayor and City Council to increase investment in services that help people from falling into homelessness and address the myriad barriers that keep people from thriving, including substance use disorders, physical and mental illness and a lack of job training,” Vargas added. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less