COUNCILMEMBER

TODD GLORIA Swearing In Comments December 3, 2012 Thank you. To the people of the great Third Council District, thank you for giving me the honor of being your voice for four more years. I want to thank my family, here to support me as they always do. Thank you for instilling values in me that shape every action I take, including the guiding principle of my public service that I should always leave things better than I found them. I want to thank my office family, the District Three staff the amazing Todd Squad who have been with me for four years. I know so much of what weve done wouldnt have been possible without you. I cant wait to see whats next. To Kensington, Talmadge and my beloved City Heights, thank you for the incredible opportunity of serving you in my first term. Though I will no longer be your representative, I will always be your advocate. I am confident that Im leaving you in the capable hands of your new Councilmember Marti Emerald. I welcome Old Town, Mission Hills, 5-Points, Western Slopes, Bankers Hill, Park West and Downtown to District Three. You have been well represented by Councilmember Kevin Faulconer and I know that my team and I are prepared to do the same. With Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, North Park and University Heights, it is safe to say that you have joined the best Council District in my humble opinion! Our district is urban. It knits together the historic with the modern, into an urban fabric that attracts national attention. We cherish our canyons. Were not afraid to experiment with new ideas like

parklets and pedestrian scrambles. And we want to restore proven concepts like streetcars and ciclovias. San Diegans come to our district to experience the arts, culture, recreation and great restaurants. District Three is home to our Citys LGBT community, San Diego Bay and our crown jewel, Balboa Park. Were the heart of San Diego, and I couldnt be prouder to be your Councilmember. Four years ago, a massive budget deficit, crumbling infrastructure and a lack of public confidence were the hallmarks of our City government. Today, thanks to this team of City leaders and sacrifices by our city employees, our budget is structurally balanced, our roads are being repaired and San Diegans have a City Hall that works together to achieve progress for its citizens. Many have contributed to these achievements but none more than Mayor Jerry Sanders. Thank you, Jerry, for restoring fiscal sanity to our City. And on a personal note, thank you for being an eloquent voice for marriage equality. Id also like to thank Council President Tony Young for his service. Tony has set a tone of bipartisanship and created an atmosphere that has helped to move us forward as a city, as a people. And of course, my Council colleagues, our City Attorney, and the Independent Budget Analyst have worked together to tackle tough issues with sensible solutions and set San Diego on a better path. I am excited to have Mark Kersey, Scott Sherman and my friend Bob Filner join us in this work. Gentlemen, I look forward to working with each of you. For me, today is not a victory lap. Today is really just half-time. And yes, I just used two sports metaphors. Today is about recommitting to the principles that have brought about these positive changes and to lay out a vision for the next four years.

 First, San Diegans can count on me to maintain the fiscal discipline that has allowed us to restore branch library hours, hire more police officers and end the fire engine brownouts. We will work to ensure the reforms weve made are not an aberration of one administration but a permanent part of the culture at City Hall. We have returned our city to a solid financial footing we will ensure that is how we operate as long as I serve you on the Council. Second, with this strong financial footing, the Council will continue to press for the aggressive repair of our roads. I will not stop until every road in San Diego is a sexy street! Weve successfully trimmed the fat and found efficiencies, which are all reflected in our much-improved finances. But the fact remains that our existing resources will not get the job done. It is time put forward a plan for the voters consideration that would dramatically increase our investment in repairing roads, sidewalks, streetlights, libraries and recreation centers. Modeled after successful efforts in other cities, and similar to local initiatives like TransNet and Proposition MM, I believe we can earn the publics support, create jobs, and end decades of neighborhood neglect. Now is the time to invest in the future of our City. With City finances stabilized and honest progress made on neighborhood needs, we should consider other topics that are worthy of our attention. Id like to share two priorities. The first is homelessness. Tonight, thousands of San Diegans will sleep on our sidewalks, in our canyons and along the San Diego River. This is unacceptable in Americas Finest City. Ive been encouraged by the recent collaboration between the government, private and nonprofit sectors thats brought renewed attention to this pressing problem. These relationships are already paying off. In

just a few weeks, the Citys new year round homeless services center, Connections Housing will open. Coupled with other innovations like the Check-In Center, I can now see a day when we have ended homelessness in Downtown. I am committed to achieving this goal in the next four years, and call upon San Diegans to join me in making this vision a reality and then applying these successful ideas in other communities that are also impacted. Another priority is the centennial celebration here in Balboa Park. I look forward to standing with Mayor Filner -- and hopefully all of you -- in the middle of the reclaimed Plaza de Panama on December 31, 2014 to launch EDGE2015, the yearlong centennial celebration of the Panama-California Exposition. EDGE2015 is shaping up to be an international event that again draws the eyes of the world to San Diego and showcases the innovations that make us great. In addition to being a boost to our local economy, the centennial will serve as a launching pad for the Balboa Park Conservancy and recommit this generation to ensuring the parks magnificence for the enjoyment of future generations. Maintaining fiscal discipline, rebuilding our neighborhoods, ending homelessness in Downtown and polishing our Citys crown jewel may seem ambitious. When you add other goals like a sustainable water future, making San Diego more bike friendly, and protecting our beaches and bays, even the most optimistic among us may have their doubts. But I do not. I have seen what this City can do. Ive seen it shake off the nickname of Enron by the Sea and now be cited as a model of reform. Ive seen us balk at the calls for bankruptcy and now enjoy a rising credit rating and healthy reserves. Ive seen it reject those who would divide and demonize, and instead work together to build stability.

More importantly, I have lived what this City can do. I stand before you as a third-generation San Diegan whose family came here in 1929 thanks to the United States Navy. I am the son of a hotel maid and a gardener. A Native American, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Dutch, gay guy who with the love of a family, the benefit of an education, the guidance of great mentors and the good fortune of being born in this City, became your Councilmember. Ladies and gentlemen, in San Diego all things are possible if we work hard and believe. I believe in San Diego and I know you do too. Thank you for your support, your confidence and your commitment to keep moving forward. God bless you and God bless our great City.