In his fourth state of the city address, Mayor Todd Gloria cited progress on a wide range of civic issues, from clearing downtown homeless encampments to filling potholes and reducing crime, but saved his strongest language for efforts to reverse “decades of underbuilding.”
“The only true solution to address both our homeless and housing affordability crises is to build more housing,” Gloria said.
He blasted “politicians surrendering to the mistaken notion that new housing endangers communities,” and outlined steps ranging from dramatically faster permit times to public investment in new affordable housing.
Permits were issued for over 8,000 new homes in 2023 — a 51% increase over 5,300 homes in 2022. A third of the homes permitted in 2023 were deed-restricted affordable housing.
“As a renter myself, I understand the housing reality of today,” Gloria said. “Not only is typical rent on a one-bedroom apartment around $2,600 a month, but it comes with the anxiety and hassle of racing against dozens of others just to apply for that hard-to-find vacant unit.”
The mayor spoke for 45 minutes in the historic Balboa Theatre before a crowd of elected officials, city employees and civic leaders. At one point, a small group of protestors supporting Hamas interrupted the speech, prompting Gloria to praise the First Amendment after they were escorted out of the theater.
He touched on a wide range of issues, often drawing applause from the audience. Among his key points:
Fentanyl — He urged state legislators to toughen laws dealing with deadly fentanyl, and praised efforts by San Diego Police to arrest dealers.
“I see what it’s doing to our homeless population when I walk through downtown. I see how it’s destroying families. I’ve met the parents who had to bury their children,” he said.
Homelessness — He plans to add 1,000 beds to the city’s homeless shelter system over the
next year at new sites, including the former H Barracks near the San Diego International Airport. And he said the new Unsafe Camping ordinance banning homeless in public spaces has been successful.
“We are clearing encampments without widespread arrests,” he said. “Since the ordinance passed in June, only one person has been arrested, but hundreds have accepted shelter.”
Retail crime — He called for changes to Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure which reclassified certain drug and theft crimes as misdemeanors. He blamed a spike in retail crime across California on this measure.
“These are not crimes of poverty,” he said. “These are criminal enterprises gaming the limits set under Prop. 47 and making a cottage industry out of retail theft.”
Roads — He said the city repaired or resurfaced 252 miles of roadway — a 20% increase over
2022 and a 57% increase over 2021. And crews filled 61,305 potholes in 2023, a 94% increase over the prior year and an 122% increase over 2021.
Proposition 1 — He urged support of Proposition 1, which will fund more than 11,000 new behavioral health treatment beds across the state in a return of what used to be called mental hospitals.
“We all recognize that our homelessness crisis has many causes, and solving it will mean
tackling it from every angle,” he said.
Public safety — He cited increased police salaries and stepped up recruiting of officers as contributing to declines in crime rates. Murder is down 12%, rape 16%, robbery 7% and burglary 16% in 2023.
“This a testament to the dedication of our police officers and our city’s commitment to
support them,” he said.
Throughout the address, Gloria projected a sense of optimism about solving the city’s problems.
“One thing I know for sure is that I have never had more faith in the ability of this
city to reverse decades of neglect and take its rightful place as not just a ‘fine’ city, but one
of our nation’s greatest,” he said.
