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Politics Jan 29, 2024
| Photo courtesy of the city of Riverside
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Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson delivered the annual State of the City address last week, emphasizing the city’s poised position for economic growth.
Riverside is in “MOTION,” the mayor said, focusing her comments on how Riverside is building on attributes incorporated in the acronym — “Mission, Opportunities, Talent, Inclusivity, Optimism, Now.”
The address was organized by the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the city of Riverside and took place Jan. 25 at the Riverside Convention Center.
According to Lock Dawson, as California’s 12th largest city Riverside is larger than 99% of all cities in the country — in almost half of the nation’s states it would be the largest city.
“No longer are we a small town, waiting for our turn or recognition. Riverside has arrived and we’re in motion,” Lock Dawson said. “We are moving forward, leading the way locally, regionally, and nationally on development, technology, arts, parks, transportation, public safety. You name it, Riverside is innovating and setting the bar.”
On homelessness, Lock Dawson said Riverside’s approach to tackling what is a nationwide crisis with a three-pronged strategy of “prevention, intervention and enforcement.” While homelessness rose 12% nationwide last year, it increased 6% in California.
The mayor said the city has been a leader in advocating for updates to the state’s mental health laws, noting lobbying efforts in Sacramento that contributed to Riverside County becoming one of the state’s first counties to start a CARE Court program.
“CARE Court connects a person struggling with untreated mental illness — and often also substance use challenges — with a court-ordered Care Plan for up to 24 months,” according to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
“These are the first meaningful changes to our mental health laws in over 50 years, and Riverside has led the way,” Lock Dawson said.
The mayor also pointed to the city’s Project Connect, which links people who have been released from the jail system with assistance services. Through Project Connect, city officials worked with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and local nonprofit Victory Outreach to reduce the number of former inmates falling into homelessness when they are released from custody. The program received the 2023 Safety and Security Award from the Riverside Downtown Partnership.
The ongoing Mayor’s Challenge to End Youth Homelessness partnered with the county to reduce youth homeless by 27% as the homeless youth population grew statewide.
Lock Dawson touted Riverside officials’ advocacy with state and federal representatives to secure more than $300 million in resources during her tenure.
As an example, Lock Dawson said Riverside gained 60% more grant funding in 2023, winning more than 50 grants. Funding totals included $35 million for housing and homelessness initiatives, $14.6 million for libraries, $41.2 million for parks and $105 million for public works and infrastructure.
“Every day — every, every day — I fight to make sure Riverside has a seat at the table, that we are getting noticed, and that we are getting our fair share of funding,” Lock Dawson said. “And that has not always been the case.”
Two “local strengths” — the Festival of Lights and the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture — are getting even stronger, Lock Dawson said.
The Cheech exceeded officials’ expectations by attracting more than 110,000 visitors in its first year of operation, generating more than $200,000 in revenue for the city.
The Festival of Lights drew 65,000 people to the annual switch-on ceremony and 700,000 people overall, creating an economic impact of $154 million.
“We often talk about mission statements. Every good organization has one,” Lock Dawson said. “But here in Riverside, we don’t just have a mission statement — we live our mission every day, to make Riversiders’ lives better.”
A video of the 2024 State of the City is available for viewing online at youtube.com/watch?v=VujcLfWDKA8&t=4s.
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